Stress Factors and Vaccine Attitudes Among Dental Students During COVID-19

Overview

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of dental students in Turkey, the reasons that affect the psychological attitudes of students towards this disease, stress factors and the effect of these factors on vaccine acceptance. Methods: The survey was applied online and consisted of questions aimed to find out the demographic characteristics, educational status, anxiety-stress factors, and reasons for students' decision behind COVID-19 vaccine administration. The psychological impact of COVID-19 was assessed by means of the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7). Standard descriptive statistics, the chi-square test and independent samples t test were used for statistical analysis.

An online survey was conducted among dentistry students in Turkey between April-May 2021. Participants were included in the survey on the condition that they were enrolled in a dental school in Turkey at the time. Participation in the survey was completely voluntary. Participants got the link to the survey online and accessed it directly by clicking the link. At the beginning of the survey, participants were informed that their participation was voluntary, their answers were anonymous, and they could leave at any time. They were then explicitly asked if they wanted to participate in the research study before starting the survey. The survey was created using the free-to-access Google Forms app and took approximately 15 minutes to complete. Survey consisted of questions about the effects of COVID-19 epidemic on the education of dental students in Turkey, stress factors, the reasons and factors affecting their psychological attitudes towards this disease. There were also questions about the effects of these reasons/factors on attitudes and behaviors related to vaccination.

Conditions