The Anxiety and Psychological Resilience of Dentists During COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Objectives: Healthcare workers are at risk of psychological disorders as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to determine the COVID-19-related anxiety level and psychological resilience of dentists who had provided healthcare interventions in Turkey during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 391 volunteers were enrolled to be literate in Turkish and to have worked at least 1 year before and during the pandemic. Data collection form was bodied in 3 parts. While the demographic questions such as age, gender, etc., was at first part, the other parts consisted of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), respectively. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The 57.5% of the participants were female. The CAS mean of the dentists working in public hospitals was higher than working in their own offices(p<0.05). The mean BRS of the participants with duration in profession between 10 and 15 years was the lowets among all subgroups (p<0.05). Comparison of mean CAS and BRS values of participants regarding with their speciality showed that surgeons, pedodontists and orthodontists had low CAS mean values (p<0.05), whereas BRS levels of these specialities significantly higher (p<0.05). There was a negative association between CAS levels and BRS levels (r=-.145, p<0.01). Conclusions: The results obtained within the limitations of the study can be interpreted as psychological resilience may be an important factor to prevent the development of anxiety in dentists who worked as forefronted in challenging conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• anxiety
• coronavirus
• dentists
• psycological resilience
• occupational disease

COVID-19 Pandemisinde Diş Hekimlerinin Anksiyetesi ve Psikolojik Dayanıklılığı: Kesitsel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Amaç: Sağlık çalışanları, COVID-19 pandemisiyle ilişkili psikolojik bozukluklar açısından risk altındadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, pandemi döneminde Türkiye'de sağlık hizmeti veren diş hekimlerinin COVID-19 ile ilgili kaygı düzeylerini ve psikolojik sağlamlıklarını belirlemektir. Gereç-Yöntem: Pandemi öncesinde en az 1 yıl çalışmış, pandemi sırasında çalışmaya devam eden ve Türkçe okuryazar olan toplam 391 gönüllü çalışmaya katıldı. Çalışamda kullanılan veri toplama formu 3 bölümden oluşmaktadır. İlk bölümde yaş, cinsiyet vb. demografik sorular yer alırken, diğer bölümlerde sırasıyla Koronavirüs Anksiyete Ölçeği (KAS) ve Kısa Dayanıklılık Ölçeği (KDÖ) yer aldı. İstatistiksel anlamlılık p<0.05 olarak ayarlandı. Bulgular: Katılımcıların %57,5'i kadındı. Devlet hastanelerinde çalışan diş hekimlerinin KAS ortalamaları kendi muayenehanelerinde çalışan diş hekimlerinden daha yüksekti (p<0.05). Meslekte geçirdiği süre 10 ile 15 yıl arasında olan katılımcıların ortalama KDÖ’sü tüm alt gruplar arasında en düşüktü (p<0.05). Katılımcıların uzmanlık alanlarına göre ortalama KAS ve KDÖ değerleri karşılaştırıldığında, cerrahların, pedodontistlerin ve ortodontistlerin KAS ortalama değerlerinin düşük (p<0.05), bu uzmanlıkların KDÖ değerlerinin anlamlı olarak yüksek olduğu (p<0.05) görüldü. Korelasyon analizi sonuçlar KAS ile KDÖ arasında, çok zayıf ve negatif bir ilişki vardı(r=-.145, p<0.01). Sonuç: Çalışmanın limitasyonları dahilinde elde edilen sonuçlar, COVID-19 pandemisi gibi zor çalışma koşullarında ön planda çalışan diş hekimlerinde psikolojik dayanıklılığın, anksiyete gelişimini önlemek için önemli bir faktör olabileceği şeklinde yorumlanabilir.

Keywords

• anksiyete
• diş hekimleri
• koronavirüs
• meslek hastalıkları
• psikolojik dayanıklılık

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