PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Behavior change due to COVID-19 among dental academics-The theory of planned behavior: Stresses, worries, training, and pandemic severity.

  • Nour Ammar,
  • Nourhan M Aly,
  • Morenike O Folayan,
  • Yousef Khader,
  • Jorma I Virtanen,
  • Ola B Al-Batayneh,
  • Simin Z Mohebbi,
  • Sameh Attia,
  • Hans-Peter Howaldt,
  • Sebastian Boettger,
  • Diah A Maharani,
  • Anton Rahardjo,
  • Imran Khan,
  • Marwa Madi,
  • Maher Rashwan,
  • Verica Pavlic,
  • Smiljka Cicmil,
  • Youn-Hee Choi,
  • Easter Joury,
  • Jorge L Castillo,
  • Kanako Noritake,
  • Anas Shamala,
  • Gabriella Galluccio,
  • Antonella Polimeni,
  • Prathip Phantumvanit,
  • Davide Mancino,
  • Jin-Bom Kim,
  • Maha M Abdelsalam,
  • Arheiam Arheiam,
  • Mai A Dama,
  • Myat Nyan,
  • Iyad Hussein,
  • Mohammad M Alkeshan,
  • Ana P Vukovic,
  • Alfredo Iandolo,
  • Arthur M Kemoli,
  • Maha El Tantawi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239961
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 9
p. e0239961

Abstract

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ObjectiveCOVID-19 pandemic led to major life changes. We assessed the psychological impact of COVID-19 on dental academics globally and on changes in their behaviors.MethodsWe invited dental academics to complete a cross-sectional, online survey from March to May 2020. The survey was based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The survey collected data on participants' stress levels (using the Impact of Event Scale), attitude (fears, and worries because of COVID-19 extracted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), perceived control (resulting from training on public health emergencies), norms (country-level COVID-19 fatality rate), and personal and professional backgrounds. We used multilevel regression models to assess the association between the study outcome variables (frequent handwashing and avoidance of crowded places) and explanatory variables (stress, attitude, perceived control and norms).Results1862 academics from 28 countries participated in the survey (response rate = 11.3%). Of those, 53.4% were female, 32.9% were ConclusionsCOVID-19 had a considerable psychological impact on dental academics. There was a direct, dose-dependent association between change in behaviors and worries but no association between these changes and training on public health emergencies. More change in behaviors was associated with lower country COVID-19 fatality rates. Fears and stresses were associated with greater adoption of preventive measures against the pandemic.