Impacto do distanciamento social e de circunstâncias acadêmicas causadas pela pandemia de COVID-19 na saúde mental de docentes e discentes de Programas de Pós graduação em Odontologia no Brasil

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID-19 has created a lot of challenges to dental education, especially for professors and students of graduate dental programs who have had their, experimental and clinical studies interrupted. As academic activities began to be developed at home, as a result of the social distance, individuals had other responsibilities, such as housework and child care. All these factors, associated with the fear of contamination and transmission of the COVID-19 virus, could generate mental changes and, consequently to impact the academic performance of professors and students. Thus, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the impact of social withdrawal and academic circumstances caused by the pandemic of COVID-19 on the mental health of students and professors from Post-graduate Dental Programs (masters and doctorates) in Brazil. For this, a pre-structured, self-administered, online questionnaire was used through the Google Forms® platform for students and professors of graduate programs in Dentistry from public and private universities. The online questionnaire was available to volunteers during a period of Brazilian social isolation (between September 2020 and January 2021). The survey was promoted using social networks (Instagram@, Whatsapp@) and e-email. A sample of 608 volunteers participated in the study (314 students and 294 teachers), and the sample calculation was based on the Fleiss Formula. The questionnaire was composed of 42 questions related to the following items: 1) sociodemographic characteristics; 2) circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic; 3) academic circumstances; associated to Brazilian version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS - 21). Data were analyzed descriptively and by Chi-square statistical test and multiple logistic regression model ( = 0,05). Students had higher levels of selfperceptions of depression (Students - 22%, faculty - 9%,), anxiety (Students - 25%, faculty - 9%,), and stress(Students - 45%, faculty - 20%,), compared to teachers. Satisfaction with productivity and pressure to publish papers increased the likelihood of depression and stress for both groups. For students, not having children was a factor associated with a higher likelihood of self-reported of depression and stress symptoms. For professors, being married increased the likelihood of experiencing self-report of depression, anxiety, and stress. In addition, being part of the COVID-19 risk group contributed positively to to increasing anxiety of the professors. Thus, it can be concluded that the social distancing, sociodemographic and academic circumstances caused by the pandemic of COVID-19, mainly being part of the risk group, married, not having children and being under pressure to publish articles, could negatively affect the mental health of professors and students of graduate programs in Dentistry in Brazil. This study shows the need for institutional policy formulation to develop interventions to improve well-being and prevent mental disorders in graduate professors and students.