KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF APHENPHOSMPHOBIA AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS IN CHENNAI-A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Abstract

Introduction: A Phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. The fear can be of a certain place, situation, or object. The impact of a phobia can range from annoying to severely disabling. There are many phobias that both Humans undergo. One of such phobias is Aphenphosmphobia, the rare specific phobia that involves the fear of touching or of being touched.

Aim: The aim of the study is to know the prevalence of Aphenphosmphobia among dental students.

Materials and methods: A Private dental institution was chosen and 100 undergraduate students were asked to answer an online questionnaire containing ten questions which was already prepared and validated by an expert committee. The results collected from the questionnaire were then coded in Microsoft Excel and then the coded results were uploaded to SPSS software version 23 for depicting it in the form of graphs and pie charts.

Results: Majority of dental students were having Aphenphosmphobia as 63.71%  of them gave a positive response to the aphenphosmphobia scale in the survey

Conclusion: The study concluded that Aphenphosmphobia was common among  students but there were no severe problems faced by the students.