COMPARISON OF THE ANXIETY LEVEL OF DENTISTRY AND NURSING STUDENTS OF SHAHID SADOUGHI UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES IN YAZD, IRAN DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN 2020

The anxiety level of dentistry and nursing students increase in hospital wards and dental environment during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study aimed to compare the anxiety level of dentistry and nursing students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 369 second semester and above students of dentistry and nursing were selected by convenience sampling method. A demographic information questionnaire and the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) with 18 statements were used for gathering data. The questionnaires were given to the students through WhatsApp application. The data was analyzed using SPSS v.21 software and descriptive and inferential statistics. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant.

The anxiety level of dentistry and nursing students was mild, and there was no significant difference between them in terms of corona anxiety score. In both groups of students, the level of anxiety in females was higher than males (p=0.049 for nursing and p=0.001 for dentistry students). There was a significant difference in anxiety scores between nursing and dentistry students in married and non-native students (p=0.01), which was higher in dentistry students.

The results of this study revealed new evidence about the anxiety of dentistry and nursing students in the Covid-19 pandemic. It is recommended that interventions and appropriate strategies be applied by university officials and teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic to reduce anxiety level of dentistry and nursing students, especially females, married and non-native students.