Perceived Stress Levels in Pakistani Dental Students During COVID-19 Lockdown

Hina Zafar Raja, Muhammad Nasir Saleem, Tayyaba Saleem, Haroon Rashid, Saroosh Ehsan, Saman Hakeem and Asif Hanif
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Hina Zafar Raja: Institute of Dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College, Lahore, NUMS, Pakistan
Muhammad Nasir Saleem: Institute of Dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College, Lahore, NUMS, Pakistan
Tayyaba Saleem: Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Pakistan
Haroon Rashid: CMH Medical Lahore College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, NUMS, Pakistan
Saroosh Ehsan: Fatima Memorial College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan
Saman Hakeem: Bahria University Medical and Dental college, Karachi, Pakistan
Asif Hanif: Biostatistics Unit – University Institute of Public Health, Pakistan

European Journal of Dental and Oral Health, 2020, vol. 1, issue 4

Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the stress levels of Pakistani dental students through an established stress assessment tool during lockdown for COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study using a self-administered, voluntarily filled online questionnaire was conducted on undergraduate dental students from first to fourth (Final) years of dental institutes across Pakistan, accredited by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC). Study questionnaire contained questions on demographic details; gender, province of college, province of residence and perceived stress scale of 10 questions. It also contained questions about the presence of any symptoms relevant to a particular type of stress. i.e. emotional stress, physical (body related) stress, behavioral stress and cognitive stress. Descriptive statistics were calculated for gender, residence of participants, location of institutes, levels of stress and symptoms signifying a particular stress type. Multiple variables of each stress type were compared with categories of perceived stress scores using chi square test. Results: 706 dental students responded. 53.5% were going through high stress levels, 43.4% were going through moderate stress levels while 2.9% were having low stress levels. Majority of the participants with moderate and high stress levels were from institutions located in provinces with increased number of COVID-19 positive cases. Among moderate and highly stressed participants, more than 68% were females. A significant number of dental students reported symptoms pertaining to emotional, physical, cognitive and behavioral stress due to the COVID-19 disease. Conclusion: Majority of Pakistani dental students are suffering from moderate to high stress levels specially in provinces with a higher number of COVID-19 affected reported cases. There are considerable effects on emotional, physical, cognitive and behavioral states of Pakistani dental students due to the spread of this disease.

Keywords: Students, Dental; Stress, Psychological; Pandemics; Infections; Academies and Institutes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:epw:ejdent:v:1:y:2020:i:4:id:13014

DOI: 10.24018/ejdent.2020.1.4.14

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