Impact of COVID-19 on Malaysian dental students' physical, mental, financial and academic concerns

A scoping review of the impact of COVID-19 on dentistry: financial aspects

BACKGROUND

The technological advancements of the past few decades in various aspects that are directly or indirectly related to health, along with the emphasis on public health in societal development, have improved the quality of life. However, the occurrence of pandemics and crises underscores how various aspects of individual life can be impacted. The financial consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have particularly affected the field of dentistry and public oral health. This study aims to investigate the financial effects of the COVID-19 virus on dentistry through a scoping review.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted across four databases (Medline through PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Central) using keywords such as COVID-19 and its equivalents, dentistry, oral health, dental education, dental services, dental clinics, financial impact, financial opportunities and economic impact. Articles addressing the financial impact of COVID-19 on dentistry and oral health were then screened and reviewed.

RESULTS

Out of 1015 articles related to COVID-19 and dentistry, 84 were focused on the financial impact of COVID-19 on dentistry. The majority of these articles originated from the United States, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia, with a prevalence of cross-sectional and review articles. The review categorized the articles into two main themes: financial problems and proposed solutions. Moreover, the following themes were extracted: the effects of practice closure on dentists and staff, increased treatment costs and impacts on oral health, personal protective equipment and unforeseen costs, psychological effects of financial issues, and financial challenges within the dental education system.

CONCLUSIONS

While many high-income countries seem able to mitigate COVID-19-induced financial problems, the economic effects on dentistry might persist despite the pandemic's end. These financial challenges have spurred new opportunities and infrastructure development but can pose significant risks to community oral health. This study aimed to highlight these problems and propose solutions, contributing to efforts to improve the oral health of communities globally. Further research is needed to understand long-term impacts.

The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of dental students at an Australian school

AIMS

The dentistry program is extremely demanding mentally and physically. Consequently, it can induce high levels of stress, anxiety and depression in students. There is some research in measuring these ramifications on dental students, but they lack the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic which has brought about many fundamental changes to the curriculum of dental students. The aim of this study was to assess dental students' mental health through the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) during the COVID-19 pandemic in an Australian dental School.

METHODS

The Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) students enrolled in years 2-5 were requested to complete an online questionnaire that included the DASS-21 and additional questions regarding the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life. Jamovi was utilized to conduct descriptive data analysis.

RESULTS

179 students completed the survey with 81 males (45%) and 98 females (55%). 70.4% of the participants described elevated anxiety for the health of their loved ones and themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall mean DASS-21 scores were 7.1 (5.07) in depression, 4.9 (4.00) in anxiety and 6.5 (4.32) in stress.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the mental health of dental students. While further research is still required, it is important for universities to recognize how this pandemic affected the mental wellbeing of students so that they can implement appropriate support programs and improve dental education.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on social and mental health worldwide, and dental students are notably affected. Recognized as a psychological risk factor, COVID-19 has been linked to an increased rate of suicidal deaths. This paper underlines the importance of recognizing the full scope of the pandemic's impact on dental students, including their views and the potential effects on their physical and mental health. The study indicates a pressing need for more robust support from the organizations to improve the mental health and overall well-being of dental students.

The medicinal value of tea drinking in the management of COVID-19

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is presently the largest international public health event, individuals infected by the virus not only have symptoms such as fever, dry cough, and lung infection at the time of onset, but also possibly have sequelae in the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, nervous system, mental health and other aspects. However, numerous studies have depicted that the active ingredients in tea show good antiviral effects and can treat various diseases by regulating multiple pathways, and the therapeutic effects are associated with the categories of chemical components in tea. In this review, the differences in the content of key active ingredients in different types of tea are summarized. In addition, we also highlighted their effects on COVID-19 and connected sequelae, further demonstrating the possibility of developing a formulation for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and its sequelae through tea extracts. We have a tendency to suggest forestalling and treating COVID-19 and its sequelae through scientific tea drinking.

Learning Stress, Involvement, Academic Concerns, and Mental Health among University Students during a Pandemic: Influence of Fear and Moderation of Self-Efficacy

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of students. An effective method that can enable students to cope with difficult times is to help them realize their inner potential. Following the stimulus-organism-response model, this study developed a theoretical framework that deepens our understanding of an environmental stimulus (fear of COVID-19) that is experienced by students; struggle within the organism (learning stress, learning involvement, and academic concerns); and the psychological response (psychological well-being). The findings clarified how the fear of COVID-19 affects the psychological well-being of university students and revealed the moderate role of academic self-efficacy in this process. Some systematic practical advice was provided to higher education institutions to develop effective interventions to protect the mental health of college students and establish strategies to promote their inner potential.

Factors Affecting Undergraduates’ Academic Performance during COVID-19: Fear, Stress and Teacher-Parents’ Support

The emergency transition from physical to online learning during COVID-19 has affected university students in various aspects, especially their academic performance. It can be caused by many factors, such as individual, environmental and social factors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the impact of fear, stress, well-being, teacher and parents’ support (independent variables) on undergraduates’ academic performance (dependent variable) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A structured online questionnaire has been developed and administered to 400 undergraduates. A structural equation model that integrated all variables under investigation was built and statistically validated using AMOS. The results demonstrated that well-being, teacher emotional support and teacher academic support have the highest significant impact on the respondents’ academic performance. It can be concluded that teachers’ support is the most substantial influence in ensuring student learning sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solar Energy-Based Future Perspective for Organic Rankine Cycle Applications

This article explores the patents of solar energy technologies in the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) applications. The conversion of low-quality thermal energy into electricity is one of the main characteristics of an ORC, making efficient and viable technologies available today. However, only a few and outdated articles that analyze patents that use solar energy technologies in ORC applications exist. This leads to a lack of updated information regarding the number of published patents, International Patent Classification (IPC) codes associated with them, technology life cycle status, and the most relevant patented developments. Thus, this article conducts a current investigation of patents published between January 2010 and May 2022 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology and keywords. One thousand two hundred ninety-nine patents were obtained as part of the study and classified in F and Y groups of the IPC. The time-lapse analyzed was between January 2010 and May 2022. In 2014 and 2015, a peak of published patents was observed. China (CN) was the country that published the most significant number of patents worldwide. However, the European Patent Office (EP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WO), and the United States (US) publish the patents with the highest number of patent citations. Furthermore, the possible trend regarding the development of patents for each technology is presented. A high-performance theoretical ORC plant based on the patent information analyzed by this article is introduced. Finally, exploration of IPC revealed 17 codes related to solar energy technologies in ORC applications not indexed in the main search.