Perceived stress and well-being among dental hygiene and dental therapy students

Abstract

Aims To explore dental hygiene and dental therapy students' (DHDTS') perception of stress and well-being during their undergraduate education and establish base-line data for further studies of this group of dental professionals.Subjects and methods A questionnaire was distributed to Years 1, 2 and 3 DHDTS and final year outreach dental students (DS) (as a comparison group), at the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy (UPDA), during summer 2015. Data were collected on students' perception of levels of stress and well-being. Statistical analyses were undertaken using SPSS software. Mann-Whitney U tests with Bonferroni corrections were used and the level for a statistically significant difference was set at p <0.002.Results A response rate of 81% (DHDTS) and 85% (DS) was achieved. Clinical factors and academic work were perceived as stressful for both DHDTS and DS, with no significant difference between the groups. The majority of respondents reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress to be within the normal range. All students reported high levels of positive well-being, with DHDTS scoring significantly higher than DS in the dimensions of personal growth, purpose in life, self-acceptance and positive relations with others (p <0.002).Conclusions DHDTS and DS identified sources of stress within their undergraduate education, but also perceived themselves as positively-functioning individuals.

Perceived stress and well‐being in UK and Australian dental hygiene and dental therapy students

“…Table compares the domain‐specific sources of stress mean DES scores for the UK and Australia. Scores for living accommodation, personal factors, academic work and clinical factors showed similar trends for both the UK and Australian students, and were similar levels to those reported in a previous study . However, within the domain of the educational environment, the scores were significantly higher ( P < .002) for the Australian students than the UK students.…”

“…The studies demonstrated that DHDTS reported similar sources of stress to that of dental students (eg examinations and grades, workload and graduation requirements). However, the DHDTS, unlike the dental students, also reported high scores in psychological well‐being dimensions, specifically in goals, purpose in life, personal growth and living a valued life …”

Stress and well-being in dental hygiene and dental therapy students

“…It has also provided new insight and a richer understanding of the previous quantitative study, in which DHDTS reported to be positively functioning individuals at the same time as perceiving their training to be highly stressful. 15 Indeed, as the findings of this study were comparable with the findings of the previous quantitative study of the same student cohort, the authors contend that it has provided further evidence of the meaningful nature of stress in dental hygiene and dental therapy undergraduate education. …”

“…The literature also states that how the stress is appraised by an individual defines whether it is perceived as a challenge (enhancing) or a threat (debilitating). [12][13][14] Another recent study 15 used valid and reliable measures of wellbeing 9,10,16 in conjunction with the widely-used DES to explore stress and well-being in DHDTS. This study showed that DHDTS reported similar levels of stress to that of dental students.…”

The evaluation of a continuing professional development package for primary care dentists designed to reduce stress, build resilience and improve clinical decision-making

“…However, the nature of the stressors is different for students 80 and the programme could not be ethically used with them without further research and modification to meet their specific needs.…”