Oral Health Centre of Expertise in Eastern Norway (OHCE-E), Oslo, Norway.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Sep 8;23(1):972. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09981-9.
Increased psychological pressure on oral healthcare professionals (OHP) due to COVID-19 has been shown, yet little is known about the long-term psychological impacts. We aimed to study the psychological impact of COVID-19 and associated factors including perceived risk and preparedness and vaccination status among OHP in the first year after the lockdown period in Norway.
A structured questionnaire sent electronically to dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants inquired experiences and perceptions during the second year following the outbreak in Norway. The questionnaire comprised a COVID-19 fear scale and questions about risk perception, preparedness and vaccination status. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to assess psychological impact, perception of risk and preparedness according to vaccination status of the respondents.
The majority of the 708 respondents were female (92.8%), had ten or more years of work experience (67.1%), and worked in public dental clinics (95.9%). Fears and concerns related to COVID-19 were common, 72.6% feared getting infected and 85.4% feared infecting others. Of the 642 respondents who agreed that their workplaces handled the situation well, 55.6% were fully vaccinated. Three factors were retrieved from EFA: Insecurity, Instability and Infection. SEM showed that females were more concerned with Infection, and respondents with long clinical experience were less likely to express fear about Instability. Fully vaccinated individuals felt more insecure about becoming infected, and those agreeing that their workplaces handled the current situation well were concerned with Insecurity.
Despite widespread perception of adequate preparedness and high vaccine coverage, a considerable psychological impact and high levels of fear of COVID-19 were observed among the majority of OHP. Fully vaccinated individuals had a larger psychological burden than not fully vaccinated and those with unknown vaccination status. These findings can inform means and interventions to reduce negative impacts of fear in populations with a high psychological burden.
由于 COVID-19，口腔保健专业人员（OHP）承受的心理压力有所增加，但对于长期的心理影响知之甚少。我们旨在研究 COVID-19 对 OHPs 的心理影响以及相关因素，包括感知风险和准备情况以及疫苗接种状况，这是在挪威封锁期结束后的第一年。
向挪威爆发后第二年的牙医、牙科保健员和牙科助理发送电子结构问卷，询问他们的经历和看法。问卷包括 COVID-19 恐惧量表以及有关风险感知、准备情况和疫苗接种状况的问题。采用探索性因素分析（EFA）和结构方程模型（SEM）根据受访者的疫苗接种状况评估心理影响、风险感知和准备情况。
708 名受访者中，大多数为女性（92.8%），工作经验在 10 年以上（67.1%），在公立牙科诊所工作（95.9%）。对 COVID-19 的恐惧和担忧很常见，72.6%的人担心感染，85.4%的人担心感染他人。在 642 名同意其工作场所处理情况良好的受访者中，有 55.6%的人完全接种了疫苗。EFA 提取了三个因素：不安全、不稳定和感染。SEM 显示，女性对感染的关注度更高，临床经验丰富的受访者不太可能对不稳定表示恐惧。完全接种疫苗的人对感染的不安感更大，而那些认为自己的工作场所处理当前情况良好的人则对不安全表示关注。
尽管普遍认为准备充分，疫苗接种率高，但大多数 OHPs 仍表现出相当大的心理影响和对 COVID-19 的高度恐惧。完全接种疫苗的人比未完全接种疫苗的人以及那些疫苗接种状况未知的人心理负担更大。这些发现可以为减轻高心理负担人群对恐惧的负面影响提供手段和干预措施。
