Perception and Attitude towards Wearing White Coats in Public Places among Dental Undergraduates and Postgraduates of Davangere City, India

Introduction: Wearing a white coat is an accepted part of medical and dental practice. The actual use of white coats and how often they are changed varies greatly among individuals and their specialties. There has always been some concern that white coats may actually play a part in transmitting pathogenic bacteria.

Objectives: To assess the perception and attitudes of dental undergraduates and postgraduates towards wearing white coats in public.

Methods: 1146 structured, closed ended questionnaires were distributed to all undergraduates and postgraduates of two colleges in Davangere. Chi-square test was used to test associations between the responses among the genders and the responses within the educational levels of the participants. Binary logistic regression models were fitted to the data to calculate odds ratios (OR) for the responses among the genders.

Results: A response rate of 88.74% was obtained, 93.5% of subjects had seen doctors wearing white coats in public, 24% of participants agreed that the lack of provision for storage of aprons could be the possible reason for wearing white coats outside the clinical setting. 52.5% of students believed that white coats are potential source for spreading infection.

Conclusion: The present study highlights the fact that white coats are potential source of cross infection. Strict audit process and protocols should be set in workplace for preventing cross‑contamination from the white coats.