scholarly journals How are you coping with the COVID‐19 pandemic? Survey of undergraduate dental students’ well‐being during an unexpected global event

Author(s):  
Malosi Poma ◽  
Firas Al Amri ◽  
Andrew Tawse‐Smith ◽  
Sunyoung Ma
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 377-381
Author(s):  
Leanne M Sykes ◽  
Thomas C Postma ◽  
André Uys ◽  
Paul Brandt ◽  
Elmine Crafford

Many dental lecturers are moving away from providing hand-out notes to their students and are rather opting for posting lecture material and tutorials on the internet using the various university platforms such as clickUP. At the same time a number of students have queried the need to purchase the prescribed text books due to their high costs, and dated content. The presumption is that all students have unrestricted and equal access to this material, and are competent using digital technology for learning and assessment, however there has been no formal investigation into whether this is so. Student access and usage was reported on in Part I of this study. The present paper investigated students' preferences with regards to the mode of learning material, and their self-perceived competencies in using the internet for various academic purposes. The project took the form of an anonymous, structured questionnaire that was given to all dental students from the second to the fifth year of study. Results revealed that over 90% of the students feel competent to access and use internet search engines for research and assignments, to connect with friends, and to download or watch videos. Slightly less (between 70-90%) were confident using it for independent research, learning from lecture material, using e-dictionary, carrying out searches to learn extra material, completing short quizzes and assignments, or undertaking independent learning and reading. Almost all students needed to access the internet on a daily or weekly basis for work related issues, yet at least 40% reported to not being able to do so at times or in venues that suited their programs. Lecturers need to be aware of this to ensure these students are not disadvantaged in comparison to their peers if they do not submit requisite material on time. The university has pledged their commitment towards changing traditional teaching methods and embracing more blended learning platforms, as well as to helping students make up for the lost time due to the Corona virus pandemic. However, now more than ever they need to work together to ensure that all students have the necessary skills and technology needed to use the online platforms, and to provide the necessary tuition and changes if they wish to be truly committed to the well-being and education of their students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1629-1632
Author(s):  
Beenish Fatima Alam ◽  
Talib Hussain ◽  
Saman Tauqir ◽  
Saqib Ali ◽  
Arqam Najmi ◽  
...  

Background: Dental students in Pakistan suffer greatly from unusual distress and are unable to maintain happiness from the start of first year to final year. They are deprived from maintaining their mental wellbeing and happiness. There is lack of evidence Oxford happiness inventory (OHI) evaluation among the students. Aim: To detect the level of happiness in dental students from different professional years. Methods: A cross-sectional study in Bahria University Medical and Dental College was carried out. Dental students were enrolled from first year to final year using purposive sampling method. Results: This study included females 209, and 55 males. Majority of students (48.5%) belonged to 18-20 years age group followed by 21-22. About 50% students were from 1st year BDS, followed by 2nd year (28%). Question assessing happiness of students, 30.9% male students and 35.4% female’s students moderately agreed. Conclusion: The study concludes that overall dental students had an average level of happiness. It is necessary that all the dental educationists in any institution should work with close association to psychologists, there shall be different student services provided and student supporting groups shall be encouraged. Keywords: Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, happiness, well-being, students,


2013 ◽  
Vol 77 (10) ◽  
pp. 1345-1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahu Uraz ◽  
Yasemin Sezgin Tocak ◽  
Ceylan Yozgatlıgil ◽  
Sedat Cetiner ◽  
Belgin Bal

Young ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 110330882110313
Author(s):  
Paola Panarese ◽  
Vittoria Azzarita

The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global event. Physical distancing and other restrictions imposed by national and local governments all over the world to contain the spread of the virus almost certainly have had a significant impact on young people, who are more sensitive to peer interaction and social stimuli than adults. This article sets out to investigate the lifestyles of young Italians during the first lockdown, with the aim of exploring how leisure becomes the object of a negotiation between social needs, regulatory requirements, and a situation of crisis. To investigate these aspects, we present the results of a quantitative study conducted on a large group of individuals in Italy, focusing on young Italians’ lifestyles and leisure activities, together with an overview of prevailing moods. Our findings indicate that young people activated various adaptation strategies in response to the crisis with possible significant effects on lifestyles and well-being.


Author(s):  
Russell Kabir ◽  
Samia Naz Isha ◽  
Mohammad Tawfique Hossain Chowdhury ◽  
Nazeeba Siddika ◽  
Shah Saif Jahan ◽  
...  

Background: Bangladesh has been attracting international students with interests in various subjects recently. Every year students from different parts of the world come to study undergraduate and postgraduate courses, mostly at private universities in Bangladesh. This study evaluates the depression status among international students who are studying dentistry in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among International undergraduate dental students who enrolled in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery program in nine public and private dental colleges in Bangladesh. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. A total of 206 students completed the survey where 78.5% of them were female students and 21.5% students were male, and a CES-D 10-item Likert scale questionnaire was used for data collection. The Cronbach alpha for the 10-item CES-D scale for this population is 0.812. Results: The majority of the students (79.5%) are below 24 years of age with a mean age of 23.22 years and standard deviation of 2.3, and are students who cannot communicate well in Bengali (Bangla), about 60% of them have experienced depression. About 77.3% (p < 0.00) of the international students having financial difficulties exhibited depression. The international students who went through financial problems were two times more likely to suffer from depression (OR = 2.38; p-value < 0.01). Conclusion: This study tried to highlight the struggles faced by international students in Bangladesh studying dentistry. It is evident from the findings that several factors influence students’ mental well-being during demanding dental education years.


F1000Research ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Sareen ◽  
Rateesh Sareen ◽  
Sarang Khajuria ◽  
Sayak Roy

Health and intelligence are two closely related aspects of human well being. Nutrition, including iron levels, affects cognitive function and thereby may influence the occupational performance of an individual. Inadequate nutrition during adulthood may lead to decreased work efficiency, poor exercise tolerance and increased susceptibility to infections. The profession of dentistry requires keen recognizing abilities and decision making skills as well as ample physical stamina, which may be impaired in a state of malnourishment. Keeping this in view, this study was designed to assess the possible impact of iron levels on cognitive function among dental students. In this study 206 dental students (150 females and 56 males) participated and their cognitive functioning was determined by answering a questionnaire. The questionnaire evaluated the confidence level, work pattern and the tendency to be distracted by the physical environment of the study participants. Iron status was determined by estimating the hemoglobin level of the individuals. Each of the three cognitive traits was correlated with hemoglobin levels. The results revealed that that majority of dental students had good levels of confidence, work patterns with a low level of restriction and low levels of distraction by the physical environment. No significant correlations were found between any of the cognitive parameters and hemoglobin levels (p>0.05) in female participants. In male participants significant correlations were found in two out of three cognitive functioning tests, confidence levels and work pattern (p<0.05). The results of this study suggest that these three cognitive functions may not be influenced by hemoglobin levels in females and may be slightly or, due to the small male sample size which may have confounded the results, not influenced by hemoglobin in males.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. e181210
Author(s):  
Francisco Wilker Mustafa Gomes Muniz ◽  
Marcelo Bruno Lemos de Oliveira ◽  
Isadora Daniel Barros ◽  
Patrícia Maria Costa de Oliveira ◽  
Lidiany Karla Azevedo Rodrigues ◽  
...  

Aim: This study aimed to correlate stressors with psychological well-being and health factors in dental students from public and private schools. Methods: From February to May 2015, three different instruments (Dental Environment Stress – DES – Psychological General Well-Being – PGWB – and SF-36 Health Survey) were applied to students from two public and two private dental schools from the State of Ceará, Brazil. Mann-Whitney test or t test for independent samples were used in order to compare the stressors between private and public dental schools students. Correlations to each DES domain were performed using Kendall’s Tau C test. Results: A total of 92 (45.32%) and 111 (56.68%) students from public and private schools, respectively, answered the questionnaire. Students from public schools demonstrated significantly higher scores in DES/academic performance and DES/personal and institutional factors (p<0.05). Significant negative correlations were detected between PGWB/anxiety and PGWB/general with all DES domains for both public and private schools (p<0.05). Additionally, DES/academic performance was significantly correlated with several SF-36 domains, such as physical function, vitality, and social functioning, to both public and private schools (p<0.05). However, DES/academic performance and SF-36/role physical was only significantly correlated in private school students (r=-0.171, p=0.039), while SF-36/bodily pain (r=-0.274, p<0.001), general health (r=-0.245, p=0.001), and mental health (r=-0.286, p<0.001) were significantly correlated with DES/academic performance only in public school students. Conclusion: Students from public and private dental schools presented different stressor patterns. Additionally, most of DES domains were significantly associated with PGWB and SF-36 to both public and private schools.


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