Assessment Of Perceived Causes and Levels of Stress Amongst Clinical Dental Students and House Surgeons. A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess perceived causes and levels of stress amongst clinical dental students and house surgeons of Baqai Dental College. Methods:  A cross sectional study was conducted from October 2018 – December 2018 after getting ethical approval from ethical committee, Baqai Medical University and permission for data collection was approved from R&D department, Baqai Dental College. (BDC/ERB/2018/011) Dental students from third year, final year and house surgeons were included in the study (n= 250). A structured pre validated questionnaire DES questionnaire 21 consisted of 23 closed ended questions with three responses of categories that are 1) No stress, 2) Mild- moderate and 3) severe stress was used. Data was analysed for frequency and percentages and chi –square test was done to assess the association between academic qualifications with other variables. Results: The response rate was 59.2%. Majority of them were females 56.8% and 43.2% were male participants. Forty three (28.9%) of the participants reported severe stress regarding fear of getting infectious disease from patients. Thirteen (35.1%) of 3rd year BDS students reported stress regarding examination and grading of patient when compared to 4th year BDS students and house surgeons with a significant relationship. Seventeen (22.7%) of 4th year BDS students reported severe stress due to fear of failure in examination when compared to 3rd year BDS students and house surgeons. Thirteen (35.1%) of the 3rd year BDS students reported stress regarding difficulty with class work Conclusion: The outcomes of the concluded study are: Maximum stress level was reported due to fear of getting infectious diseases from patients and fear of failure in examination. Women reported maximum stress levels than men. 3rd year BDS students reported severe stress than 4th year BDS students.