Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study
Dental clinics were suspected to be a hotspot for nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 due to the easy spread of the virus. The study investigated the preventive behaviors applied in dentistry settings and the level of fear of COVID-19 infection among dentists. A total of 83 respondents (34.94% male...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/4/443 |
| _version_ | 1797538174608605184 |
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| author | Raluca Iurcov Lavinia Maria Pop Gabriela Ciavoi Magdalena Iorga |
| author_facet | Raluca Iurcov Lavinia Maria Pop Gabriela Ciavoi Magdalena Iorga |
| author_sort | Raluca Iurcov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dental clinics were suspected to be a hotspot for nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 due to the easy spread of the virus. The study investigated the preventive behaviors applied in dentistry settings and the level of fear of COVID-19 infection among dentists. A total of 83 respondents (34.94% male and 63.86% female) were included in the research. Sociodemographic data were collected, together with new institutional and personal rules regarding preventive behaviors. Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to measure the fear of infection. Data was analyzed using SPSS (v.25, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). During the first seven months of confinement, 3.9% of dentists were confirmed with COVID-19 and one fourth treated confirmed positive patients. A quarter of the doctors declared that they had periods when they lived away from home being afraid of transmitting the disease to their family members, and significant data were found in doctors being parents. The closure of dental offices had a negative impact on the financial situation of dentists, especially on those working in rural area offices. Many doctors encountered difficulties in purchasing protective suits and medical supplies, and more than half of the respondents (65.1%, <i>N</i> = 54) focused on the quality of protective suits when purchasing them. More than half of the dentists were trained how to use them. The score for fear of COVID 19 was similar to dentists from other countries. Respondents with chronic diseases were more prone to show higher level of anxiety when following the news and stories related to COVID-19 on TV, media, or social networks. One third of dentists mentioned that they had treated exclusively specific urgent dental problems since the onset of the pandemic and more than 13.3% declared that they refused to provide medical assistance to some specific pathologies because of the fear of infection. The results reflect new challenges and rules adopted by dentists in order to diminish the risk of infection and the impact of pandemic considering their psychological, familial, and financial context. Policymakers and professional associations around may benefit from these findings while formulating guidelines to support dentists during COVID-19 or any future pandemics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:27:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2e1559318c854b1aa7f3bbb83aea0fa1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:27:48Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-2e1559318c854b1aa7f3bbb83aea0fa12023-11-21T14:53:39ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-04-019444310.3390/healthcare9040443Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional StudyRaluca Iurcov0Lavinia Maria Pop1Gabriela Ciavoi2Magdalena Iorga3Dental Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Oradea, University of Oradea, 410073 Oradea, RomaniaFaculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, 700554 Iasi, RomaniaDental Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Oradea, University of Oradea, 410073 Oradea, RomaniaFaculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, 700554 Iasi, RomaniaDental clinics were suspected to be a hotspot for nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 due to the easy spread of the virus. The study investigated the preventive behaviors applied in dentistry settings and the level of fear of COVID-19 infection among dentists. A total of 83 respondents (34.94% male and 63.86% female) were included in the research. Sociodemographic data were collected, together with new institutional and personal rules regarding preventive behaviors. Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to measure the fear of infection. Data was analyzed using SPSS (v.25, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). During the first seven months of confinement, 3.9% of dentists were confirmed with COVID-19 and one fourth treated confirmed positive patients. A quarter of the doctors declared that they had periods when they lived away from home being afraid of transmitting the disease to their family members, and significant data were found in doctors being parents. The closure of dental offices had a negative impact on the financial situation of dentists, especially on those working in rural area offices. Many doctors encountered difficulties in purchasing protective suits and medical supplies, and more than half of the respondents (65.1%, <i>N</i> = 54) focused on the quality of protective suits when purchasing them. More than half of the dentists were trained how to use them. The score for fear of COVID 19 was similar to dentists from other countries. Respondents with chronic diseases were more prone to show higher level of anxiety when following the news and stories related to COVID-19 on TV, media, or social networks. One third of dentists mentioned that they had treated exclusively specific urgent dental problems since the onset of the pandemic and more than 13.3% declared that they refused to provide medical assistance to some specific pathologies because of the fear of infection. The results reflect new challenges and rules adopted by dentists in order to diminish the risk of infection and the impact of pandemic considering their psychological, familial, and financial context. Policymakers and professional associations around may benefit from these findings while formulating guidelines to support dentists during COVID-19 or any future pandemics.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/4/443healthcaredentistryCOVID 19pandemicfear of COVID 19preventive behaviors |
| spellingShingle | Raluca Iurcov Lavinia Maria Pop Gabriela Ciavoi Magdalena Iorga Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study Healthcare healthcare dentistry COVID 19 pandemic fear of COVID 19 preventive behaviors |
| title | Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | evaluating the practice of preventive behaviors and the fear of covid 19 among dentists in oradea metropolitan area after the first wave of pandemic a cross sectional study |
| topic | healthcare dentistry COVID 19 pandemic fear of COVID 19 preventive behaviors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/4/443 |
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