A cross‐sectional virtual survey to evaluate the outcome of online dental education system among undergraduate dental students across India amid COVID‐19 pandemic – Shrivastava – – European Journal of Dental Education

1 INTRODUCTION

A worldwide well being emergency passed off with outbreak of the newly found rising respiratory illness, COVID-19.¹ The extremely contagious illness with signs like cough, fever, dyspnea and extreme pneumonia was detected first in Wuhan, China, from the place the illness was quickly transmitted to the completely different elements of the world.^2–5 A lot of people have been in danger because the modes of transmission of the illness have been respiratory droplets and shut contacts.³ The speedy improve within the variety of sufferers worldwide attracted consideration to the illness and was declared as Pandemic by World Well being Group (WHO) on eleventh March 2020.⁶ On thirtieth January 2020, the primary case of COVID-19 was reported in India, which had additionally rooted from China. To comprise the illness, as a safety measure, a compulsory lockdown was introduced on twenty fifth March 2020 throughout India.

The state of lockdown had a distinguished impact on the academic sector the place the standard techniques have been changed by on-line instructional techniques. All the scholars, together with medical and dental, have been instructed to quarantine themselves at house to make sure their security.⁷ Cobb SC and Liu et al said that in-person persevering with training had remained probably the most most well-liked format,^{8, 9} however just lately, on-line training system gained plenty of reputation, even in undergraduate course in Dentistry worldwide. On-line training has develop into widespread as it’s accessible and versatile to the scholars.⁹ It supplies data and opens the door to accumulate training by the scholar in such a pandemic the place faculties have been shut down quickly. The web training method has overcome the issues related to the standard training system at virtually each place. Stay digital lecture rooms are delivering the lectures via private terminals equivalent to laptops, smartphones, computer systems by way of the web. Yilmaz et al said that on-line training has develop into one of the crucial dynamic, enriching kinds and well-received strategies of distance training.¹⁰

The usage of Large Open On-line Programs (MOOCs) has developed these days even for healthcare training. In a research by Chan et al, it was concluded that the scholars enrolled to MOOCs have been extremely dedicated and motivated to study via varied progressive instructional sources, equivalent to movies, studying actions and interactive animations. Additionally, the members have been desperate to study additional utilizing this system.¹¹ One other technique getting used for medical college students is Flipped Lecture rooms (FC) the place the scholars are first uncovered to topic utilizing on-line lessons later head to head class is devoted for lively studying. Ramnanan et al concluded that medical college students most well-liked this technique over lecture-based instruction and have been strongly happy with early purposes of the FC to undergraduate medical college students.¹²

Since Dental faculties in India are accountable to make sure that the scholars meet the outcomes set out by the Dental Council of India, they’re attempting their greatest to offer training via all doable means. Haroon et al said that use of manikins and digital actuality/augmented actuality (VR/AR)-based stimulation units together with haptic know-how has develop into very useful for the dental college students.¹³ However, the psychological well being and well-being of the scholars are as vital as their training. Most of the dental college students, worldwide, have developed worry relating to their academical performances and upcoming examinations. Additionally, these college students have been extra anxious than different college students, as they’ve a deeper data of the illness.⁷ The scholars are dealing with nervousness, loneliness, apprehension and anger as they’ve been locked up for a protracted interval throughout many nations.^{3, 14, 15}

Thus, a questionnaire-based research was carried out to grasp the professionals and cons of on-line training on the B.D.S college students throughout India. Additional, it was essential to assess the psychological and bodily well-being of the scholars amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown to alleviate them from the stresses via varied means.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional observational research via digital survey was carried out in India to evaluate the standard of on-line training system and psychological and bodily well-being of B.D.S. college students throughout the nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The current research obtained the moral clearance from the Institutional Moral Committee (IEC Challenge code: EC202011).

The pattern measurement required for the current research was calculated utilizing the next components for pattern measurement calculation:

the place Z, normal regular rating with 95% confidence interval (CI) (α = 0.05); S, normal deviation of the variable; d is most acceptable error.

To take account of potential errors and pattern loss, which is frequent in cross-sectional research, a remaining pattern measurement was estimated to be 385 based mostly on a confidence interval of 95% and a margin of error of 5% with an estimated response price of fifty% utilizing a statistical software program (PASS Pattern measurement 2020, NCSS, USA). So as to choose the research topics from our sampling body (checklist of all dental faculties throughout India), a easy random sampling methodology was used and 533 topics responded to the questionnaire that constituted the ultimate research pattern.

A self-designed questionnaire in English language made particularly for the research was created on-line utilizing google kinds (www.google.com/forms/about/). A senior specialist in Dental training and a Psychologist was consulted to confirm the content material of the questionnaire.

The members included within the current research have been the B.D.S. college students from first to remaining 12 months throughout India in dental faculties. These college students who have been prepared to take part within the research and provides knowledgeable consent have been included within the research. The URLs of the questionnaire have been circulated on-line utilizing google kinds. The questionnaire was despatched to the research members by way of Social Media Purposes like e mail and WhatsApp and never handed over personally due to metropolis “Lockdown” to forestall the unfold of the virus. The members got one-week time to fill the questionnaire and return it. A totally crammed questionnaire was to be submitted on-line, solely to the investigator.

The descriptive survey was divided into two sections: Part A was relating to the tutorial end result of on-line dental training and Part B was on the psychological and bodily well-being of scholars. The members have been knowledgeable in regards to the goal of the research via the directions written on the head of the questionnaire. After clicking on the hyperlink, the scholars first needed to fill the demographic particulars. The primary part of the survey assessed the conduct, high quality, difficulties and recommendations relating to the net training system from the scholar viewpoint. The second part of the questionnaire assessed completely different dimensions of psychological well being: nervousness, data of stress administration, behavioural patterns, tutorial stress, household relationship in addition to peer relationships. The 4-point Likert scale was used to grasp the psychological well being of the scholars the place 1 meant strongly agree and 4 meant strongly disagree.

The descriptive statistical evaluation was carried out via counts and percentages and by utilizing on-line software program IBM SPSS Statistics (Model 20.0. IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The importance degree was set as <.05. Function engineering was carried out to the collected knowledge. Exploratory knowledge evaluation was carried out. Insights have been gathered utilizing descriptive statistics and frequency evaluation. The reliability of the Likert scale was checked by Cronbach’s alpha worth. Intercorrelation between the variables within the Likert scale was carried out. Mann–Whitney take a look at was carried out on the psychological knowledge.

3 RESULTS

The survey was despatched to 1000 undergraduate dental college students throughout India, out of which 533 people participated on this research. The response price was 53.3% the place feminine topics (415, 77.9%) have been in clear majority than male topics (116, 21.8%). In India, the inhabitants of feminine college students in dentistry is larger than males, which can also be mirrored in our research. All of the members included have been from first to remaining 12 months B.D.S college students from varied dental establishments throughout India.

Out of 533 college students, 488 college students reported that on-line lessons have been carried out of their respective faculties out of which 86.1% of scholars attended the lessons frequently. 49.2% of scholars confronted difficulties in understanding via on-line lectures. Nonetheless, 55.5% college students have been capable of grasp <50% of the data from the lectures. Web connectivity has been the commonest drawback encountered by professors whereas conducting lectures in addition to college students whereas attending on-line lectures which led a lot of the college students really feel the necessity of reconducting the lectures in individual, as soon as the state of affairs settles. Additionally 86.4% of scholars urged that in-person lectures have been extra handy and comprehensible than on-line lectures. The sensible demonstrations have been offered to solely 8.3% of the scholars, and 72% of scholars had no entry to sensible lessons. 65.7% college students urged the requirement of pre-clinical work demonstrations. Pre-clinical work comprised of procedures that may very well be carried out on casts and typhodonts.

When members have been requested whether or not the standard of training had been affected adversely, 76.2% of the scholars affirmed. 73% of scholars have been conscious of the precautions to be taken in dental professions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinars associated to COVID-19 have been carried out by varied medical and dental professionals, the place 74.4% of scholars attended them frequently. 86.3% of the scholars have remained anxious relating to the lecturers and college examinations. Desk 1 summarises the descriptive outcomes of the responses to the questionnaire, and Desk 2 summarises the responses of the questionnaire by the scholars. The explicit labels used for statistics are talked about in Desk 3.

Evaluation of the query associated to the difficulties confronted by college students (query 6) whereas attending the net lectures was carried out utilizing Likert scale (Determine 1, Desk 3), the place Cronbach’s alpha worth was 58.3% which was very much less for any conclusive assertion (Tables 4 and 5). Thus, these knowledge have been used just for exploratory knowledge evaluation.

Evaluation of the query associated to the psychological and bodily well-being of the scholars (query 19) was additionally carried out utilizing Likert scale (Determine 2, Desk 3), the place Cronbach’s alpha worth was 76.6% which was dependable; thus, Mann–Whitney take a look at was carried out on the info. Low Inter-item co-relation was seen which urged that the variables had low co-relation inside them which results in the conclusion that all of them are important (Tables 4 and 6).

Once we carried out Mann–Whitney take a look at to evaluate the bodily and psychological well-being of scholars, we noticed that females expertise extreme degree of headache when in comparison with males (p = .713). It was noticed that males skilled extra pressure on eyes when in comparison with feminine (p = .405). In line with the outcomes, it was seen that the physique posture was affected extra in males as in comparison with females (p = .198). The research confirmed that male college students have been extra depressed (p = .286), lonely (p = .194) and anxious (p = .679) than females because of the lockdown.

4 DISCUSSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the skilled programs adversely. Because of the lockdown, there was a change within the mode of training. Digital training system has changed the in-person training in virtually all of the skilled programs together with dentistry. To the most effective of our data, this has been the primary research carried out to evaluate the end result of on-line training system and the bodily and psychological well-being of the scholars amongst undergraduate dental college students throughout India amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the current research, the affect of COVID-19 pandemic on on-line training was noticed among the many college students throughout Dental faculties in India. In an identical research, it was discovered that, in the course of the pandemic, on-line dental training elevated considerably even in nations overseas.⁸

Within the current research, we discovered that college students most well-liked offline training system when in comparison with on-line training resulting from lack of computer systems and technical difficulties with packages, as additionally concluded by Cobb SC in her evaluation article.⁹

From the examination viewpoint, a lot of the college students have been anxious in regards to the lecturers and upcoming college examinations, because of the lack of interplay with involved colleges and uncertainty relating to examination dates, as has additionally been conferred by Choi et al, when assessed the affect of the COVID-19 on remaining 12 months medical college students, examinations and placements in the UK.¹⁶ It was additionally seen in a current research that, to fight the financial pressure brought on by the pandemic, sufferers are more likely to postpone elective dental therapy leading to, lack of ability of dental college students to finish their clinic necessities.¹⁷

It was additionally noticed that many college students attended webinars on COVID-19 pandemic and safety measure to replace their data for a similar.¹⁸ This sort of instructional instrument has been proven to offer a possibility for dental college students and practitioners to construct and retain the theoretical and medical dental experience in the course of the interval of COVID-19 isolation.¹⁹

Our research revealed that college students have been depressed and lonely due to the pandemic. Related discovering was noticed in a research by Chen B et al the place they investigated psychological well being standing of younger individuals the place they concluded that the general public have been at medium threat of growing despair.²⁰ It has additionally been noticed that college students can get very harassed and develop into negatively impacted by the worry of getting contaminated by the virus, and subsequently, counselling providers and psychological help could improve following COVID-19 pandemic.²¹

Once we in contrast the responses when it comes to gender, the males have been seen extra vulnerable to despair relatively than females. Male college students felt extra lonely than feminine college students as they weren’t capable of meet their associates. Nonetheless, a research carried out by Marelli S et al confirmed completely different outcomes, whereby, once they assessed the psychological affect of COVID-19 emergency in Italy, they discovered that females have been affected greater than males.²²

Nonetheless, the research had sure limitations, as there are very much less research carried out on on-line dental persevering with training, the research couldn’t be in contrast. Thus, extra research needs to be carried out to grasp the impact of on-line training all through the world. Additional research could be carried out on related traces on dental postgraduates and different dental technician course college students.

The research strongly urged that there’s a want to enhance the standard of scholar centred on-line dental training system. Demonstrations of pre-clinical work needs to be even be carried out by the universities for higher understanding of the topic. Measures must also be taken to alleviate the scholars from psychological and bodily stresses.

5 CONCLUSION

Inside the limitations of the research, it was seen that a lot of the faculties carried out on-line lessons for the scholars. The research concluded that the standard of training was adversely affected by digital training. The offline in-person training continues to be probably the most preferable format of training amongst dental college students. It was additionally concluded that the psychological and bodily well-being of undergraduate college students have additionally been affected resulting from this pandemic and they’re anxious relating to the tutorial efficiency and upcoming college examinations. So, there’s a want for normal counselling to college students. It was additionally noticed that male college students have been extra vulnerable to despair and loneliness than feminine college students.

Writer’s contribution

KS and RN did the experimental design, evaluated the outcomes, writing and enhancing the manuscript. SP and VM helped modify the manuscript. All authors learn and accredited the ultimate manuscript.

Moral approval

Accredited.