Undergraduate dental students’ perspective of online learning and their physical and mental health during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background and objective COVID-19 pandemic continuously spread exacerbating global concerns. It had impacted all life aspects such as social, cultural, economic and education. This study assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate dental students at Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on physical and mental health of undergraduate dental students. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. An online questionnaire was administrated to 150 undergraduate dental students. The questionnaire included questions related to students’ demographic data, their concerns on academic achievement, their opinion on institution response, and the impact of the crisis on their mental and physical health. SPSS software v26.0 was used to analyse the collected data. Results A total of 147 respondents participated in the study. About 66% of the students felt comfortable in adapting to the new technology while 85.7% were concerned about the quality of online learning. Almost all students 98.6% expressed their doubts on the ability to pass the competency exams and to graduate on time, with only 49.7% agreed that clinical experience was effectively delivered through online classes. Most students were also concerned on the impact of the pandemic on their physical and emotional health 85.8% and 76.9% respectively. Conclusions The findings of our study highlight the positive adaptation of the students to online learning and using technology. On the other hand, the study indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic brings negative impacts on our students’ physical and mental health.

The Impact of a 1-Year COVID-19 Extension on Undergraduate Dentistry in Dundee: Final Year Students’ Perspectives of Their Training in Oral Surgery

“…The negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the finances and mental health of the students cannot be underestimated, with many of the students commenting on how scared they felt not only in the clinical environment but also with the situation in general, which is in keeping with other studies [ 14 , 18 , 34 ]. However, the majority of them felt that the extension was necessary to prepare them to become a safe beginner and to prepare them for the next stage of their career.…”

“…The conclusion was that all students in all of the years of the BDS programme in Dundee and Glasgow would be required to undertake a 1-year extension to reach the status of ‘safe beginner’ for registration with the General Dental Council [ 17 ]. The decision undoubtedly affected the students at many different levels, but there are reports on the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the dental students’ stress levels [ 14 , 18 ], and no accounts could be found on the impact on their clinical experience in comparison to that of the pre-COVID-19 levels or of other extensions to the dental course.…”

Effectiveness of online practical education on vaccination training in the students of bachelor programs during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…This finding is not consistent with Etajuri et al in which only 49.7% of the dentistry students were satisfied with the clinical knowledge delivered through online classes. This fact may be related to the limited manual training and lack of interaction with the patients [ 37 ].…”

Dentistry students after the COVID-19 outbreak—have views on distance education changed?

“…In online education, group learning occurs through social interaction (18). A previous study concluded that while dental students can adapt to online learning, they are concerned about their physical and mental health (19). Another study reported that distance education encouraged students to learn on their own and it improved their ability to use online resources (20), whereas other studies reported that face-to-face education is more effective than online education (15,21).…”