KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND PREVALENCE OF TRYPANOPHOBIA AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS IN CHENNAI- A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Authors

  • Vishaka. S, Dhanraj Ganapathy, L. Keerthi Sasanka

Abstract

Background: A fear of injections or needles is commonly called “needle phobia” or, for more trivia-minded “trypanophobia”. This is a condition that has been officially medically recognized and is estimated to affect 22% of the adult population, 3.5 to 10% of the general population. It is occasionally referred to as aichmophobia, although this term may also refer to a more general fear of sharp pointed objects. Despite trypanophobia being a hindrance to compliance for the medical professions, it has a sound evolutionary basis from the sufferer’s perspective. Prior to the advent of modern medical techniques, an innate or learned aversion to stab or piercing injuries would have had a strong survival value. Trypanophobia comprises four specific types namely Vasovagal, Associative, Resistive, and Hyperalgesic. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, awareness, and prevalence of trypanophobia among dental students.

Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional survey-based study. The study was conducted among undergraduate dental students of a private dental college. A pre-validated self-administered questionnaire was used. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions. The results were analyzed using SPSS software version 23.0. Descriptive statistics were performed to calculate frequencies of various categories.

Results: The results of the study have shown that over 45.38% of all the participants of the present study were afraid of needles on a scale of 0-4. Around 49% of all the participants were afraid of needles on a scale of 5-7. Males of this study had a moderate range of trypanophobia, whereas females of this study had a mild range of trypanophobia.

Conclusion: The study concluded by assessing the prevalence, knowledge, and awareness of trypanophobia among dental students. There was no prevalence of extreme fear of needles (on a scale of 8-10) among the study population. There is a strong correlation between gender and year of study, the males had a higher prevalence of needle phobia than the females who participated in this study.

Published

2022-05-01

How to Cite

Vishaka. S, Dhanraj Ganapathy, L. Keerthi Sasanka. (2022). KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND PREVALENCE OF TRYPANOPHOBIA AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS IN CHENNAI- A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY. Drugs and Cell Therapies in Hematology, 10(3), 1968–1985. Retrieved from http://dcth.org/index.php/journal/article/view/1114

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