Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding intellectual property rights among medical, dental, and nursing professionals in a tertiary institution in Bhubaneswar City, Odisha: A cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about intellectual property rights (IPRs) among medical, dental, and nursing students and faculties in a tertiary institute through cross-sectional survey in Bhubaneswar City, Odisha. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted from October to December, 2021 in a tertiary institution in Bhubaneswar city, Odisha. A self-structured, 29 close-ended questionnaires based on IPRs was used in the survey. The data obtained were tabulated and analyzed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0. All the components of KAP were measured as absolute and relative frequencies. They were also assessed as mean and standard deviation. Descriptive analysis through frequency distribution was calculated and the Chi-square test was applied. The correlation between the domains was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULT: A total of 489 participants participated in the survey, out of which 196 (40.1%) were males and 293 (59.9%) were females; 177 (36.2%) were interns, 147 (30.1%) were postgraduates, and 165 (33.7%) were faculties from all the three fields (medical, dental, and nursing). A total of 192 (39.3%) participants were from medical, 198 (40.5%) from dental, and 99 (20.2%) were from the nursing field. The mean KAP scores were significantly (P < 0.0001) higher among nursing interns respondents (2.963, 0.637, and 0.390), dental postgraduate respondents (2.213, 0.844, and 0.351), and dental faculties (1.953, 0.876, and 0.481). The mean knowledge score was significantly (P < 0.0001) greater among females than males and the mean attitude and practice scores were significantly (P < 0.0001) greater among males than females. Pearson's correlation coefficientwas found to be significant for knowledge-attitude, knowledge-practice domain. The values obtained were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This study showed that more KAP was found in dental faculties, dental postgraduates, and nursing interns. However, the need to know IPR is still lacking among the healthcare professionals. Since IPR is the need of the hour and it has a potential ahead, it is necessary to include it in the curriculum so as to increase the knowledge about IPR among individuals, which will enable to creation of dynamic innovations in the near future.