Response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic of dental hygienists in South Korea-Part II: Fear and anxiety.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the mental fear and anxiety about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Korean clinical dental hygienists and to investigate factors influencing the anxiety felt after the outbreak of COVID-19. METHODS: A questionnaire on mental fear (Fear-C) and anxiety for COVID-19 was conducted among 500 clinical dental hygienists in South Korea. Fear-C was identified with eight questions. The General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire was scored for the pre-COVID-19 situation (GADBefore ) and the current situation going through the pandemic (GADAfter ). The scores for the responses to the questionnaire were 0 points for strong negative and 3 points for strong positive. Higher scores indicate higher levels of fear and anxiety. All data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics, and the statistical significance was set at α = 0.05. RESULTS: The average Fear-C was 16.11 ± 3.89 out of 24.00. There were significant differences in Fear-C when the type of work organization and symptoms related to COVID-19 (Sx-C) differed. Significant differences were confirmed in GADBefore according to age range, systemic diseases, and Sx-C (p < 0.05). There was no difference in GADAfter for all general characteristics, except Sx-C (p > 0.05). In the regression model of GADAfter , Sx-C (ß = 0.526), Fear-C (ß = 0.358), and GADBefore (ß = 0.515) were positively related to GADAfter (p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Most dental hygienists complained of Fear-C. GADAfter was significantly higher than GADBefore . The factor that had the greatest impact on GADAfter was Sx-C.