The Socio-economic and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Malaysian Private Dentists: An Exploratory Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/adum.vol29no7Keywords:
COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysian Private Dentists, Psychological Impact, socio-economicAbstract
The global COVID-19 Pandemic combined with nationwide economic depression and public fear had caused dental clinics in Malaysia to experience a significant reduction in patient visits with a potential impact on the socio-economic and psychological status of Malaysian private dentists. This study assesses the socio-economic and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysian private dentists. A cross-sectional online questionnaire included demographic profile, socioeconomic factors and psychological status was used. Participation was voluntary. Descriptive statistics on the three variables were generated. Pearson Chi-square test was used to check for significant difference (p<0.05). In all, 95 private dentists voluntarily participated. Male and female participants were equally represented, mostly in the 22-25 group (62%). The Job Insecurity Scale measurement showed 58% and 48.5% participants respectively, were socio-economically and psychologically affected. The Financial Threat Scale showed 44.4% of respondents were financially affected, while 51% (measured by the General health questionnaire) displayed affected health. The socio-economic-psychological aspect was found to be statistically significant (p =0.018). Within the limitation of sample size, participating private dentists were found to be socio-economically and psychologically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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