Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Dental Care Providers on the Frontlines

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease emerged at the end of 2019. On 30 January 2020, the WHO classify it a pandemic. We aim to examine the psychological effects on dental care providers in China in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and factors closely associated with those effects. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study online with the following four widely used self-administered questionnaires: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the General Anxiety Disorder-7, the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and the Acute Stress Disorder Scale, to examine the depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms experienced by frontline dental care providers. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the variables that potentially affected the mental health of emergency dental care providers. Outcomes: 969 out of 1035 questionnaires were included in the analysis, with 642 respondents reporting more than one symptom (66.3%). The symptom of perceived stress was reported by the largest proportion of the respondents (66.2%, n=641), while anxiety the least (7.1%, n=69). After adjustment for confounders, it is found that dental practitioners with pre-existing physical health conditions were at higher risk of depression (OR, 1.972; 95%CI, 1.128~3.448; p=0.017), and perceived stress (OR, 2.397 95%CI, 1.283~4.478; p=0.006). Additionally, feelings of fear, helplessness, or terror resulting from the possibility of being contracted were significantly associated with the prevalence of all the four psychological symptoms observed (p<0.05). Interpretation: This study revealed the psychological depression, stress, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffered by dental care providers during COVID-19, which indicates the importance of psychological support at times of major epidemic outbreaks. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000031538) Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The protocol and informed consent documents were submitted to and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital (SH9H-2020-T55-2) and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.