Nigerian Journal of Medicine (Jan 2021)

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial wellbeing of dental therapists in Nigeria

  • Kehinde Adesola Umeizudike,
  • Patricia Omowunmi Ayanbadejo,
  • Debola Onaolapo Omidiran,
  • Ayodele Charles Ogundana,
  • Ezi Abigail Akaji,
  • Janet Titilayo Cardoso,
  • Adeyemi Victor Igbokoyi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/NJM.NJM_185_20
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 30, no. 2
pp. 160 – 166

Abstract

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Background: The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, as a highly contagious infection transmitted via droplets, and person-to-person contact. Airborne and aerosol transmission have also been implicated. Aerosol generating procedures such as scaling and polishing may increase the risk for developing COVID-19 in dental clinics, and may thus place some psychological strain on dental therapists. This study aimed to determine the psychosocial effect of COVID-19 on dental therapists in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out following ethical approval from the institutional Ethics Committee. Data collection was through self-administered online questionnaires and included socio-demographic characteristics. Psychosocial well-being was assessed using a five-point Likert scale that assessed the level of worry. Scores were summed up to obtain the mean (range 5–25). Statistical significance was set at a level of P ≤ 0.05. Results: The 192 respondents had a mean age of 28.0 ± 7.2 years, 96.9% were aware of COVID-19. Sixteen (8.3%) participants reported at least one medical condition. The mean psychosocial-wellbeing score was 18.4 ± 4.9. Most (90.1%) were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, while 76% were severely worried about getting infected with COVID-19 in the dental clinic, and 72.9% were severely worried about the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the clinic. Participants with self-reported medical conditions had a slightly higher psychosocial score (18.6 vs. 18.4), but this was not significant (P = 0.902). Conclusion: The psychosocial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was considerable on the dental therapists. The provision of PPE, training on Infection Prevention and Control, and psychosocial support will reduce the psychosocial effect of COVID-19 on dental therapists in Nigeria as they are willing to ensure patients' safety.

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