Investigating the Level Of Anxiety Caused By The COVID Epidemic In Dental Students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the state of anxiety as one of the indicators for determining the mental health of Sari dental students during the COVID-19 virus epidemic.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in the year 1400 among all incoming students from 95 to 97, selected by census method, including 143 people in the Faculty of Dentistry of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in Sari City. The tools for collecting the required information are a demographic questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire on anxiety caused by COVID-19. Based on the score obtained by the participants in this questionnaire, they were divided into three anxiety levels, which included low, medium, and high. Data analysis was done with a chi-square test in SPSS software.

143 people, including 47 (32.9%) people from the 2016 entry, 55 (38.5%) people from the 2017 entry and 41 (28.7%) people from the 2018 entry participated in this study. 73 (51%) of the participants were women. The results of this study showed that 50.3% of students experience a low level of anxiety, 46.9% experience a moderate level of anxiety, and 2.8% experience a high level of anxiety. Also, a significant relationship between the academic year and the level of anxiety was observed so that the students of the newer year showed a higher level of anxiety. There was no significant relationship between gender and place of residence with anxiety level (P>0.05).

There is a significant relationship between the level of anxiety and the academic year of the students. In this way, the stress level is higher in the newer entries. To reduce the anxiety level of students, there is a need to revise the management of infection control, improve the work environment, and learn how to deal with patients to protect everyone, as well as education and support from academic institutions.