MAGALHAES, Verena Carvalho Sampaio de; OLIVEIRA, Danillo Lyrio de    PRADO, Fabio Ornellas. Knowledge, risk perception and attitudes of Dentistry students with regard to HIV/AIDS. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) []. 2015, 63, 3, pp. 291-300. ISSN 1981-8637.

Objective To assess the knowledge, perception of risk and attitudes of Dentistry students regarding HIV/AIDS. Methods A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was performed by applying a questionnaire containing 33 objective questions to students enrolled in the Dentistry course at Southwest Bahia State University, between the second and final years. Results The response rate was 74%, with an average overall score of 64.1% for the knowledge variable, considered to be good. The average overall score for risk perception was 61.7% (considered inadequate), borne out by a significant rate of accidents involving sharps (25%). An average overall score of 54.3% revealed negative attitudes, showing that some students feel apprehensive and unprepared to treat HIV+ patients. Conclusion In view of the fact that the attitude and risk perception variables studied showed results that fall short of expectations, even with a knowledge variable considered to be good, a greater articulation between theory and practice is suggested.

: HIV infections.; Knowledge.; Students; Dental..