Perceived Stress and Psychological Impact among practicing dentist in Bengaluru city during the COVID 19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Public health emergencies like the current pandemic Covid-19 affect the health, safety, and well-being of both individuals and communities with psychological implications. Hence this study intends to evaluate the patterns of perceived psychological stress as well as explore the factors associated with it using the validated Covid- 19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) among practicing dentists in Bengaluru city. Methodology: The survey used a pretested, self-reported COVID-19 Peritraumatic Stress Index (CPDI) questionnaire. It captures the details concerning anxiety, depression, phobias, cognitive change, avoidance and compulsive behaviour, physical symptoms, and loss of social functioning and collectively quantifies the stress on a scale of 0–100. A CPDI score of ≤27 indicated low or no stress, 28–51 indicated mild to moderate stress, and ≥52 indicated severe stress. A sample size of 300 was obtained and descriptive and inferential statistics were done using SSP software version 24. Results: A logistic regression analysis showed that the general practitioners had higher CPDI scores which indicated significantly increased stress (p=0.000). Similarly, practitioners with work experience between 6-10years showed significantly increased signs of stress. Conclusion: Every practicing dentist had some form of stress as measured according to CPDI. This is an easy tool that can be used for screening for distress during the pandemic. The risk of contagion, fear or uncertainty of education, financial implications and future practice avenues may be the cause of acute stress.