Psychological Distress and Post-Traumatic Symptomatology among Dental Healthcare Workers in Russia: Results of a Pilot Study

Maria Sarapultseva, Alena Zolotareva, Igor Kritsky, Natal’ya Nasretdinova and Alexey Sarapultsev
Additional contact information
Maria Sarapultseva: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Medical Firm Vital EBB, 620144 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Alena Zolotareva: International Laboratory of Positive Psychology of Personality and Motivation, Department of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia
Igor Kritsky: Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Immunology and Physiology (IIP), 620002 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Natal’ya Nasretdinova: Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization «Association Stomatology», 620102 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Alexey Sarapultsev: Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Immunology and Physiology (IIP), 620002 Ekaterinburg, Russia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: The spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection has increased the risk of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and healthcare workers (HCWs) are at greater risk than other occupational groups. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to explore the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among dental HCWs in Russia during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was carried out among 128 dental HCWs from three dental clinics of Ekaterinburg, Russia. The mean age of the sample was 38.6 years. Depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); PTSD was assessed using the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self-Report (PSS-SR); subjective distress was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). The results indicated that 20.3–24.2% HCWs had mild to extremely severe symptoms of psychological distress, and 7.1–29.7% had clinical symptoms of PTSD. No differences between females and males were revealed. HCWs working directly with patients had significantly higher levels of PTSD symptoms and the risk of PTSD development compared to those working indirectly, whereas older HCWs had significantly higher levels of both psychological distress and PTSD symptoms compared to younger HCWs. Thus, dental HCWs are at high risk for psychological distress and PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: anxiety; COVID-19; DASS-21; dentistry; depression; IES-R; infection; PSS-SR; PTSD; Russia (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 (11)

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