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- Title
Student Wellness: Stress in Dental Hygiene Programs.
- Authors
Beck, Judith A.; Harmon, Jennifer; Kornegay, Elizabeth; Phillips, Ceib
- Abstract
Problem: In professional training, regardless of age, institution or degree, students are precipitously introduced into a new environment with immense challenges. Very little data is available on stress in dental hygiene training. Purpose: The aim of this study was to gain further understanding of stress in the undergraduate dental hygiene learning environment. Methods: This study was considered exempt by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institutional Review Board (IRB19-2646). Inclusion criteria were enrollment in the first or second year of the undergraduate program of dental hygiene (DH) at the Adams School of Dentistry (UNC ASoD) or at one local North Carolina community college (NCCC). Students were provided an anonymous survey through a Qualtrics link during a predetermined classroom time to maximize the opportunity for students to participate in the this voluntary study. The survey included demographic queries, screening for depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and a modified version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Clinical cutpoints were used to categorize anxiety and depression as moderately severe to severe or none to moderate. Chi-square and Mantel Haenszel row mean score statistics, depending on the scale of measurement, were used to assess the effect of educational setting on the outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effect of educational setting, demographics, and social support on the categorized levels of anxiety and depression. Significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Of the 136 eligible respondents, 100% (n=69) of UNC ASoD students and 90% (n=54) of NCCC students responded. There were no statistically significant differences between the two educational settings in respect to demographics or personal lifestyles (all p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the two settings in the proportion of students reporting moderately-severe or severe anxiety (p = 0.007) with 56% of NCCC and 34.8% at UNC ASoD indicating high anxiety. There was no statistically significant difference in depression (p=0.07). However, 42.6% of all students reported moderately-severe or severe depression. Of all respondents 7.8% reported suicidal ideation in the last 12 months. In the logistic regression, only the educational setting was marginally significantly associated the likelihood of moderately severe/severe anxiety(p=0.053). With an adjusted odds ratio 2:1, students at NCCC were 2 times more likely to report moderately severe/severe anxiety than those at UNC. Conclusions: The proportion of dental hygiene students enrolled in these programs had substantially higher mental/ emotional issues than anticipated.
- Publication
Journal of Dental Hygiene, 2020, Vol 94, Issue 5, p55
- ISSN
1043-254X
- Publication type
Academic Journal