Discernment in practicing nonpharmacological modes of intervention in combating SARS COVID-19: Reflections of dental patients in India

Abstract

Background: As a massively polarizing practice, concealing or face covering has emerged in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Given the increasing speculation regarding therapeutic control measures, nonpharmacological approaches offer promising successful mitigation in the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) COVID-19. The evaluation of public capacity, prospects, and actions offers recommendations for public oversight of the implementation of prevention activities. Hence, this investigation was aimed to explore the discernment in practicing nonpharmacological modes of intervention in combating SARS COVID-19 among a group of people, dental patients. Materials and Methods: A pictorial questionnaire survey was done using convenience sampling, aimed at participants visiting the triage facility of the institution to capture their discernment in practicing nonpharmacological modes of intervention for 3 months. Results: A total of 6015 individuals with a mean age of 35.44 ± 14.20 years participated in the study. The majority of the participants were in the age group of 18–30 years (n = 2340, 38.9%) with female (n = 3105, 51.6%) and urban (n = 3745, 62.3%) predominance. Most of the study participants had purchased cloth masks (n = 2980, 49.5%) and had spent about 10–50 INR per mask (n = 4050, 80.6%). Patients have reported that the usage of a mask (n = 1330, 22.1%) was the most difficult measure to follow and also stated that sanitizing hands (n = 2505, 41.6%) was the easiest measure to follow during this pandemic. Crowding in the market (n = 2255, 37.5%) and placing masks around the neck (n = 735, 12.2%) were infringements served in their surroundings. Irrespective of educational qualification touching the outer area of the mask was the most common noncompliance reported by the participants which were statistically significant (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: The study participants have divulged that usage of masks and following social distance in public transport were the most difficult preventive measures of SARS COVID-19 to follow. Evaluating the attitudes of public in preventive procedures for COVID-19 can pave the way to make comprehensive guidelines.

Keywords

• covid-19
• dental school
• noncompliance
• nonpharmacological interventions
• pandemic
• patient