Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students, Assistants, and Faculty of a Dental Institute of Saudi Arabia

Saqib Ali, Saman Tauqir, Faraz Ahmed Farooqi, Badr Al-Jandan, Hawra Al-Janobi, Sami Alshehry, Adel Ibrahim Abdelhady and Imran Farooq
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Saqib Ali: Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Saman Tauqir: Department of Physiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan
Faraz Ahmed Farooqi: Department of Dental Education, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Badr Al-Jandan: Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Hawra Al-Janobi: Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Sami Alshehry: Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Adel Ibrahim Abdelhady: Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Imran Farooq: Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1G6, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-11

Abstract: This study aimed to assess the perceived stress levels in students, assistants, and faculty members of the College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal, University (IAU), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Using the Cohen’s perceived stress scale (PSS) questionnaire (consisting of 14 items, hence called PSS-14), an online observational survey was conducted. The PSS 14 was rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). The scores ranging from 0–18 represented low stress, 19–37 represented moderate stress, and 38–56 represented high stress. The second-and third-year students were designated as junior year students, while fourth-year onwards were considered senior year students. Out of total 265 participants, 65% (173) were female, and the majority of the participants were dental students 70% (185) with a mean age of 26.71 ± 9.26 years. In the present study, the average PSS score for the participants was computed as 29.89 (range score: 0–56) which shows moderate stress levels among the respondents. The PSS score for the students was 31.03; for the faculty, it was 28, while for the assistants, it was 27.05. Among the three participant groups, the students were found more on the severe stress side (19%) ( p -value = 0.002), and among them, the senior year students (6th year) showed significantly higher stress levels compared to the junior year students ( p -value = 0.005). Age-wise, the participants below 20 years were most stressed (21%), followed by those 20–30 years old (18%). Female participants were more severely stressed than males (17% vs. 10%, respectively). It was concluded that the students experienced more stress, followed by the faculty members and dental assistants. In addition, younger participants, females, and senior year students were more stressed than their counterparts. Future studies directed at evaluating stress levels of these groups from different dental institutes could provide an opportunity for policymakers to offer various resources to improve their mental health.

Keywords: COVID-19; stress; psychology; dentistry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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