Validation of Stress Management Program for Dental Undergraduate Students and Assessment of Its Acceptability and Feasibility

Introduction: Stress among first-year dental undergraduate students is a well-recognized problem. Empowering the students to deal with stress is the need of the hour. One such stress management module was designed based on the “transactional model of stress and coping.” The objectives of the present study were to assess the content validity, acceptability, and feasibility of a stress management program among first-year dental undergraduate students in Bengaluru city. Subjects and Methods: The stress management program consisted of multiple methods being taught in four workshop sessions. A panel of ten experts were invited to grade the validity of the contents of the module. Content validity was calculated using the Lawshe’s method. Acceptability of intervention measure and feasibility of intervention measure scales consist of four questions each, and the final score ranges from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability and feasibility. Forty-seven first-year dental undergraduate students attended the workshops and responded to these two scales. Results: The content with more than 0.6 content validity scores was included in the module: understanding stress, stressors and coping methods, abdominal breathing, pranayama, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness meditation, imagery, goal setting, time management, and stress-free lifestyle. The acceptability and feasibility were found to be 4.4 and 4.31, respectively. Conclusion: The stress management program was found to be valid by the experts. It was reported to be acceptable and feasible by the first-year dental undergraduate students.