Covid-19 Pandemic and Dentistry: Perception of Dental Trainees from Peshawar Regarding their Mental Health

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of House Officers (HO) and Postgraduates (PG) dental trainees. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 participants. A total number of 194 HOs and 186 PG trainees from all the teaching dental hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated. The time duration of this study was December 2020 till March 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was used that comprised of closed-ended questions on perceptions of trainees regarding their mental health. The data was recorded and analyzed using SPSS statistical package 26.0. A total number of 380 Trainee dentists participated in the study and half of them (48%) reported to be tested positive for COVID-19 previously. During the peak of the pandemic, the overall mental health (90.8%) of the participants was compromised. The most common reasons reported were financial issues (58.9%) and psychomotor skills (52.1%). Fear of putting the family in danger (94.2%) was also a significant factor adding to mental health deterioration. It was also reported in our study that the females were more psychologically affected as compared to their male counterparts with a P-Value less than 0.05. This study shows the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of house officers and postgraduate dental trainees. Our research concluded that majority of internees mental health was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant incidence of fear, anxiety, and concern, among other psychological symptoms.