Correlation between Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics (SAVE) and Burnout among Korean Dental Hygienists during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the correlations among Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics (SAVE), job stress (JS), and burnout among Korean dental hygienists during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the moderating effect of JS. As a cross-sectional study, a self-reporting questionnaire was used to survey 204 clinical dental hygienists to measure the levels of SAVE, JS, and burnout, along with their demographic characteristics as the control variables. Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were performed to analyse the correlations among burnout, SAVE, and JS, including the moderating effect of JS. With education level and subjective health controlled, JS (β = 1.05, p < 0.001), SAVE (β = 0.69, p = 0.020) and the interaction between SAVE and JS (β = −0.93, p = 0.050) were identified as significant influencing factors of burnout. The adjusted explanatory power of the model was found to be 52.4%. In summary, both SAVE and JS were significant influencing factors of burnout among dental hygienists, while a moderating effect of JS was also identified. Therefore, it is necessary to create a work environment that can relieve SAVE and JS to reduce burnout among dental hygienists.