Fear, Stress and Stigma of Covid-19 among Indian Dental Practitioners

Abstract

BACKGROUND Novel coronavirus pandemic has impacted the lives and well-being of all people around the globe. Dental practitioners are at a high risk of catching infection. This situation has brought risk of death from infection along with unbearable psychological pressure. Therefore, this study was done to assess the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health of dental practitioners. METHODS A survey was conducted amongst 265 dental practitioners using snowball sampling technique, collecting basic demographic data, practice setting and relevant data. Psychological stress was collected through Covid-19 Peri-traumatic Distress Index (CPDI). General self-efficacy scale (GSE) was used to measure the self-efficacy of dental surgeons. Pearson correlation between the distress levels and self-efficacy scores were calculated. RESULTS Nearly 3.7 % respondent’s score was indicative of low distress. 30.18 % of the respondents’ scores suggested moderate distress, and 65.6 % of the respondents’ scores were indicating severe distress. Mean self-efficacy was found out to be 22.06 (standard deviation = 4.71). Those with greater self-efficacy scores reported less distress, showing a moderate negative correlation, with a Pearson coefficient of - 0.1406, which was statistically significant (P < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS This study interprets the relationship between factors associated with Covid-19 and elevated psychological distress among dentists. There was a negative correlation between distress and self-efficacy of dentists. Stressors such as greater risk of infection for dentists, lockdown, falling economy and liabilities, social media, lead to anxiety, fear, and strong emotions. Dentists should be provided with broader understanding of mental health and the methods for enhancing the self-efficacy of dentists should be implemented. Professional help can be provided by the government to health workers for their mental well-being. Tele dentistry can be practiced in the pandemic to minimize the risk of infection. KEY WORDS Novel coronavirus, Dental Practitioners, Psychological Stress, Stressors, Economy