A survey on disaster management among postgraduate students in a private dental institution in India.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding disaster management among postgraduate (PG) students in a private dental institution in India.

Design: Questionnaire survey with cross-sectional design.

Setting: Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.

Patients And Participants: All PG students in SDM college of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, were included.

Interventions: None.

Main Outcome Measures: Knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding disaster management.

Results: A total of 125 of 135 PG students participated (response rate of 92.59 percent) in the study. Mean knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores were 58.74, 85.78, and 31.60 percent, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between knowledge and year of study (chi2 value = 45.301, p = 0.000), and behavior and place of residence of respondents (chi2 value = 4.112, p = 0.043).

Conclusions: Participants had low knowledge and behavior scores, but high attitude scores regarding disaster management. The year of study and the place of residence were associated with knowledge and behavior, respectively. This study highlights the need for curriculum changes in dental education and has policy implications for disaster management in India.