The psychosocial effect of the COVID-19 national lockdown on Dentistry and Oral Hygiene students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/2519-0105/2022/v77no4a1Keywords:
COVID-19 lockdown, anxiety, fear of COVID-19, food insecurity, dental students, oral health/hygiene students, psychosocial factors.Abstract
The COVID-19 lockdown has had a psychological and social impact on dental students globally. To determine the psychosocial effect on students enrolled in dentistry and oral hygiene courses at UWC. To determine the psychosocial effects (living conditions, levels of anxiety, fear of COVID-19, and food security levels) experienced by students during the lockdown. A descriptive, cross-sectional study using a quantitative approach was used. Methods: A randomised sample (n=250), stratified by sex and academic year group,
comprising undergraduate oral hygiene BOH total students = 90 and dentistry BDS total students = 450 (UWC, 2020) was used. Data was gathered via an online survey, (Google Forms). Survey questions included the GAD-7, FCV-19S questionnaire, and Food Security scales. The data were analysed using Epi Info 7. The response rate was 36% (n=90); 69.67% were female; the mean age was 22.34 (SD = 2.66); 91% lived with their parents during lockdown. Students’ main sources of funding were parents (47%), NSFAS or bursary (42%) and self-funded (11%). Substantial psychosocial effects with high anxiety (33%), fear of COVID-19 (47.3 %), and a lesser effect for food
insecurity (FI) (5.49%) was reported. The study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to psychosocial effects in a discipline that under ‘normal” conditions is experienced as stressful. This requires educational institutions to develop a targeted
approach through relevant support systems that would identify vulnerable students at critical times.
Downloads
References
Cao W, Fang Z, Hou G, Han M, Xu X, Dong J. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Res. 2020 May; 287:112934. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934. Epub 2020 Mar 20.
Defeyter G, Stretesky P, Long M, Furey S, Reynolds C, Dodds A, et al. Food Insecurity and Lived Experience of Students (FILES). 2020; London, UK: Parliament.
Elmer T, Mepham K, Stadtfeld C. Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students’ social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland. 2020; PLoS ONE 15(7): e0236337. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0236337
Li Y, Wang Y, Jiang J, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Fall K, Fang F, Song H, et al. Psychological distress among health professional students during the COVID-19 outbreak. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720001555 Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2020
Kontoangelos K, Economou M, Papageorgiou C. Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 Pandemia: A Review of Clinical and Psychological Traits. Review Article. Psychiatry Investigation. 2020;17(6):491-505. Published online: June 15, 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2020.0161
Odriozola-González P, Planchuelo-Gómez A, JesúsIrurtia M, Luis-García R. Psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown among students and workers of a Spanish university. Psychiatry Research; 2020 Aug;290: 113108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres .2020.113108
Akinkugbe AA, Garcia DT, Smith CS, Brickhouse TH, Mosavel M. A descriptive pilot study of the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on dental and dental hygiene students’ readiness and 7wellness. Journal of Dental Education. 2021; 85(3):401-410. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12456
Zyl-Schalekamp CV, Mthombeni P. Social-background factors affecting the academic success of first-year sociology students at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. 2015 Jan 1;6(1):31-44.
Hakami Z, Khanagar SB, Vishwanathaiah S, Hakami A, Bokhari AM, Jabali AH, et al. Psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on dental students: A nationwide study. Journal of Dental Education. 2021;85(4):494-503. https://doi.
org/10.1002/jdd.12470
Wilson VJ, Rayner CA, Gordon NA, Shaikh AB, Crombie K, Yasin-Harnekar S. Perceived stress among dental students at the University of the Western Cape. South African Dental Journal. 2015 Jul 1;70(6):255-9.
Elani, H. W., Allison, P. J., Kumar, R. A., Mancini, L., Lambrou, A., & Bedos, C. (2014). A systematic review of stress in dental students. Journal of dental education, 78(2), 226-242.
Gordon NA, Rayner CA, Wilson VJ, Crombie K, Shaikh AB, Yasin-Harnekar S. Perceived stressors of oral hygiene students in the dental environment.African Journal of Health Professions Education. 2016;8(1):20-4.
Majeed MM, Salim Z, Shaikh AH, Ramzan Z, Bhatia MR, Rafique S. A comparative study to evaluate COVID-19 related anxiety and fear among medical doctors and dental surgeons. Ethiopian Medical Journal. 2020; 59(2).
Iosif L, Tâncu AMC, Didilescu AC, Imre M, G˘albinas, u BM, Ilinca, R. Self-Perceived Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic by Dental Students in Bucharest. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021;18; 5249. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18105249
Khanagar SB, Alfadley A. Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Interns in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Survey. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2020;13(5):508–512.
Wang C, Zhao H. The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxiety in Chinese University Students. Front. Psychol. 22 May 2020. |https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg .2020.01168
Van der Berg L, Ruebenheimer J. Food security among students at the University of the Free State, South Africa, S Afr J Clin Nutr. 2015;28(4):160-169.RESEARCH < 197
Bruening M, Argo K, Payne-Sturges D, Laska M. The struggle is real: A systematic review of food insecurity on post-secondary campuses. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 2017;117:1767–1791.
Firfirey N, Carolissen R. 'I keep myself clean... at least when you see me, you don't know I am poor': student experiences of poverty in South African higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education. 2010 Jan 1;24(6):987-1002.
Whittle C, Tiwari S, Yan S, Williams J. Emergency remote teaching environment: a conceptual framework for responsive online teaching in crises. Information and Learning Sciences. 2020 Jun 29.
Hughes R, Serebryanikova I, Donaldson K, Leveritt M. Student food insecurity: the skeleton in the university closet. Nutr Diet. 2011;68(1):27-32.
Ahorsu DK, Lin CY, Imani V, Saffari M, Griffiths MD, Pakpour A H. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2020; 1-9.
Mossman SA, Luft MJ, Schroeder HK, Varney ST, Fleck DE, Barzman DH, et al. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: signal detection and validation. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2017 Nov;29(4):227–234A.
Fawaz M, Samaha A. E-learning: Depression, anxiety, and stress symptomatology among Lebanese university students during COVID-19 quarantine. In Nursing forum 2021 Jan (Vol. 56, No. 1, pp. 52-57).
Chaturvedi K, Vishwakarma DK, Singh N. COVID-19 and its impact on education, social life and mental health of students: A survey. Children and youth services review. 2021 Feb 1;121:105866
Mazzoni E, Iannone M. From high school to university: Impact of social networking sites on social capital in the transitions of emerging adults. British Journal of Educational Technology. 2014 Mar;45(2):303-15.
de Souza SL, Laureano IC, Cavalcanti AL. Estão os estudantes de odontologia com medo do Coronavírus? Um estudo piloto utilizando a escala de medo da COVID-19. Revista de Ciências Médicas e Biológicas. 2021 May 5;20(1):28-32.
Lingawi HS, Ibtesam K. Afifi IK. COVID-19 Associated Stress Among Dental Students. The Open Dentistry Journal. 2020; 14:554-562. DOI:
2174/1874210602014010554
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}