COVID-19 - uncertainty and anxiety, psychological and dental healthcare needs

• Published in: Revista argentina de clínica psicológica Vol. 30; no. 2; p. 156
• Main Authors: Aldhuwayhi, Sami, Bhardwaj, Atul, Smita Singh Bhardwaj
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Buenos Aires FUNDACIÓN AIGLÉ 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Anxiety; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Dental health; Dental treatment; Email; English language; Health care; Infections; Males; Medical personnel; Men; Mental health; Networking; Pandemics; Polls & surveys; Psychological distress; Psychological well being; Questionnaires; Social networks; Statistical analysis; Uncertainty; Saudi Arabia
• ISSN: 0327-6716; 1851-7951
• DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.4015

Background: This study was conducted to analyse anxiety, awareness and perceived need of dental and psychological healthcare during COVID 19 among the adult Saudi Arabia population. Materials and method: An online survey was done by using a questionnaire involving 18-70 years old participants, over a period of two months. The questionnaire comprised of 30 questions; related to anxiety, awareness, psychological and dental health care needs and it was distributed among population of Saudi Arabia through Email, social networking sites etc. Results: A total of 1456 survey forms were circulated, out of which 900 survey forms were obtained and evaluated for the data collection and analysis. All the participants were resident of Saudi Arabia with knowledge of English language and were above 18 years of age. Descriptive statistics are used in this study to analyse the findings. Frequencies and percentages were used to observe the results. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using IBM SPSS version 24.0. 48.33% were females and 51.67% were males. More than 60% people were aware of various facts associated with coronavirus infection. More than 70% people were anxious about this pandemic and stressed on the requirement of psychological health. 72% responders were scared of going to dental health care providers and 88% felt that they might catch COVID-19 infection if they went for dental consultation or treatment. That’s why 84% of population avoided their regular dental check-ups. Conclusion: We must learn that awareness regarding the disease is really important to manage the anxiety in patients. Our authorities should stress on adequate psychological health care needs of people to manage distress as well as online dental consultations to remove anxiety related to dental treatment.