Dental Interns’ Knowledge and Self-Perceptions Regarding COVID-19 and its Impact on Mental Health and Online Learning: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Published Oct 27, 2023
https://doi.org/10.18311/ijmds/2023/656
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Volume 12, Issue 2, July 2023

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Amira Saad Badran
Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Misr International University, Cairo
Khaled Keraa
Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Misr International University, Cairo
Mahassen Mohamed Farghaly
Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Misr International University, Cairo

Abstract

Introduction: The current study evaluated the knowledge and perceptions about COVID-19, as well as the self-perceived mental health and online learning experience among a group of dental interns during the pandemic. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted in August 2021, and included 270 dental interns, who were final-year dental students during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants included 111 (43.7%) males and 143 (56.3%) females. A paper-based questionnaire was developed including questions to measure the interns’ level of knowledge and perceptions about the virus, as well as about self-perceived mental health status, learning challenges, and fear of virus exposure. All the data were statistically analyzed. Results: 95.3% of the participants had a good level of knowledge about COVID-19 and methods of infection prevention. There was a statistically significant direct correlation between knowledge and perception scores (r = 0.126, P = 0.046). There was a statistically significant inverse correlation between knowledge and impact on self-perceived mental health scores (r = -0.124, P = 0.048). Similarly, a statistically significant inverse correlation was reported between knowledge and impact on learning experience scores (r = -0.181, P = 0.004). Conclusion(s): Although; dental students have a satisfactory level of knowledge about the COVID-19 virus, infection prevention, and control, there is a need to further explore the benefits of online learning and to improve and promote educational programs that provide psychological support for students.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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Europe PMC
Received 2023-08-20
Accepted 2023-09-25
Published 2023-10-27
How to Cite
Badran, A. S. ., Keraa, K. ., & Farghaly, M. M. . (2023). Dental Interns’ Knowledge and Self-Perceptions Regarding COVID-19 and its Impact on Mental Health and Online Learning: A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences, 12(2), 2089–2100. https://doi.org/10.18311/ijmds/2023/656

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