Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Natural Disaster Management Among Dentists in Southeastern Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Disasters pose a significant concern for healthcare systems. Dentists, as essential members of healthcare teams, possess skills and capabilities valuable for disaster risk management. However, little is known about the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of natural disaster risk management among dentists in Iran. This study was conducted to evaluate dentists' KAP of natural disaster risk management and to determine the correlation between these variables.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 403 general and specialist dentists from Kerman city in southeastern Iran. We evaluated dentists' KAP of natural disaster risk management using a researcher-designed questionnaire and convenience sampling.

RESULTS

The results showed that dentists had high knowledge (12.96 ± 1.54, 92.6%), desirable attitudes (46.42 ± 2.45, 99.3%), and desirable practices (17.63 ± 1.89, 94%). Higher knowledge was observed among dentists aged over 46 years, married participants, those working in private and public clinics, and those with more than 21 years of experience. Positive attitudes were more common among married dentists, those employed in both private and public clinics, and those with less than 10 years of work experience. Multivariate analysis further showed that age and working in both private and public clinics were significant predictors of higher knowledge, while employment in both settings was associated with a more positive attitude.

CONCLUSION

Given the high levels of knowledge, positive attitudes, and effective practices among Iranian dentists in disaster risk management, they can play a pivotal role in emergency response. To utilize this capacity, it is essential to formally recognize and integrate the participation of dentists into the national disaster management system. This integration requires establishing standardized protocols and interdisciplinary training programs to better incorporate the dental profession into Iran's emergency response structure.