Stressors and mental health impacts of COVID‐19 in dental students: A scoping review

Abstract

Objective The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to mental health hazards to healthcare providers in general and to undergraduate dental students. The present study undertakes a scoping review to identify and discuss the mental health issues and stressors impacting dental students globally during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A systematic search following the Joanna Briggs Institute's framework for scoping reviews was conducted on Embase, MEDLINE by Ovid, Web of Science, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and ERIC to identify peer reviewed publications published globally since the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic in March 2020 until June 22, 2021. Manual search was also performed on Google scholar. Eligible studies were selected based on the predetermined set of criteria and focused specifically on mental health issues experienced by undergraduate dental students in the context of COVID‐19. Results Fifty‐five publications were retained. Fifty‐one reported stress, anxiety, or depression experienced by undergraduate dental students during the pandemic. Twenty‐five studies employed validated psychometric instruments to explore mental health status among the same students. A total of 28 publications reported that the predominant concern for students was fear of infection, especially during patient interaction. Adapting to virtual learning, clinical skill deficit due to lack of/limited practical training and social isolation were other majorly reported stressors. Conclusions Many mental health issues and stressors related to the COVID‐19 pandemic have been identified. Mitigation of COVID‐19‐related stressors on dental students’ mental health should be a priority across all dental academic institutions. Continued efforts should be made to create a supportive learning environment.

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on dental school assessments – Current status and future perspectives

“…Other key elements in determining the long‐term success of any alternative assessment are its cost and feasibility to uphold academic integrity. Although the technology was often utilized to uphold academic integrity, it likely put additional stressors on students and financial constraints on dental schools 35–38 . In agreement with these reports, one course director in this survey noted “change from in‐person proctored exams to remote– proctored exams seemed to work well but it was expensive.” Another course director commented “Open book, open browser exams were the only option that leveled the playing field and addressed cheating, but retention of information will be questionable at best.” (Table 3).…”

“…Pre‐COVID long exams used to cause exhaustion and sometimes anxiety amongst students.” (Table 3). Such assessment administration changes that reduced student anxiety and exhaustion likely became even more important in light of additional stressors reported by dental students during the COVID‐19 pandemic 36,37 …”

“…Such assessment administration changes that reduced student anxiety and exhaustion likely became even more important in light of additional stressors reported by dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. 36,37 In an ideal scenario, various assessment methods are utilized in order to compensate for the shortcomings of one method as a single assessment method that fails to assess all domains of students' performance. However, during the pandemic, the choices were limited and educators were confined to limited methods such as remote-proctored exams, utilization of virtual 2-dimensional images for identifying structures on specimens, open book exams for a fair assessment of students, and increased use of OSCE/simulated patients instead of patient-based exams.…”

Reshaping dental faculty development using collective healthcare experiences

“…For the past decade, an increased focus on student preferences is reflected in pedagogy, learning environment, students' well-being, adopting new technologies, and other aspects of the dental learning environment. [21][22][23] To implement these strategies, faculty members are required to obtain a new set of skills that are often self-learned. Current tools used to evaluate faculty do not generally reflect these growing skills nor do they acknowledge the time required to achieve them.…”

“…For the past decade, an increased focus on student preferences is reflected in pedagogy, learning environment, students’ well‐being, adopting new technologies, and other aspects of the dental learning environment 21–23 . To implement these strategies, faculty members are required to obtain a new set of skills that are often self‐learned.…”