Educational challenges – the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental students’ stressors in one-year observation period

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the inadequacy of medical education structures in preparing for global biological crises. In spite of time passing from outbrake of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the question is actual. Objectives were to: perform the Dental Environmental Stress Questionnaire a year after the pandemic outbreak (DES 2021), compare DES 2021 results with obtained one year earlier (DES 2020), and analyze correlations between DES domains and additional stressors related to the COVID-19. 233 participants attended the study. DES Questionnaire, a reliable tool for identifying environmental stressors, was distributed online. It consists from five domains. Participants also answered 10 additional questions related to COVID-19. Total DES 2021 mean value (M) was 1.93 and was significantly lower than DES 2020 (M = 2.12, p < 0.001). M value for domain academic work was 2.50 vs 2.77(p < 0.001) in 2020, clinical factors 1.98 vs 2.29(p < 0.001), educational environment 1.96 vs 2.11(p = 0.022), personal factors 1.57 vs 1.68 (p = 0.023), living accommodation 1.51 vs 1.57 (p = 0.0489). DES M value for fifth year was 2.14, third 2.13, fourth 1.95, second 1.83, first 1.55. The strongest positive correlations between COVID-19 stressors and total DES 2021 occurred for fear of backlog arising from the pandemic (rs 0.53), and return to clinical classes and contact with patients in connection with SARS-CoV-2 (rs 0.47). Conclusions: decrease in total DES was observed, the order of domains remained consistent with significant reduction of clinical factors, stressors during clinical education were higher than during preclinical, the clinical factors the strongest positively correlated with pandemic-related stressors.