The evaluation of insomnia level of healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the insomnia severity of healthcare workers in Turkish society during the COVID-19 epidemic according to demographic data, working conditions and other variables. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in Turkey, a total of 277 medical employees, including 107 men and 170 women providing active service in various health centers. Healthcare workers were asked to fill in the personal information form and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to determine the insomnia level. The prepared questionnaires were applied online to healthcare workers who agreed to participate in the study. Mann-Whitney U ve Kruskal Wallis test were used in the statistical analysis of the data. The significance level was accepted as P<0.05 in these analyzes.

Investigation of healthcare workers attitudes and practices towards the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To evaluate the behaviors and attitudes of healthcare workers toward COVID-19. Methods: A total of 280 healthcare workers (172 females and 108 males) answered an online questionnaire about the biosafety procedures for and their attitudes about COVID-19. The average age of participants was 33.57 ± 7.78. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and the chi-square test. Results: The study sample consisted of 39.5% medical doctors, 32.1% dentists, 14.3% nurses, 4.6% technicians, 2.9% physiotherapists, 3.6% secretaries, and 3.2% auxiliary staff. Of these healthcare workers, 151 (53.9%) had children. A great majority of the participants (91.8%) stated that they were afraid of being infected with the COVID-19 virus. There was no significant difference by gender, but the difference between having a child (95.4%) and not having a child (87.6%) was statistically significant (p=0.042). A little more than half (54.3%) of the participants answered yes to the question of whether they quarantined themselves, and this was found to be significantly higher in those who had children (42.4%) than those who did not (33.3%)(p=0.001). The precautions worn by healthcare workers while working were as follows: masks (89.3%), gloves (80.1%), N95/FFP2 masks (17.4%), face protective shields (39.1%), glasses (28.5%), and bonnets (33.1%). Sources of information for health workers about COVID-19 included the websites or social media accounts of professional organizations such as the Ministry of Health, the Association of Dentists, and the World Health Organization (82.2%);published scientific articles (47.3%);and social media accounts like Instagram and Twitter (48%). Conclusions: While healthcare workers responded well to the standard measures and attitudes they have to protect themselves against COVID-19 contamination, their practice on the extra measures they can take should be improved. In addition to personal protective equipment, efforts should be made to protect the immunity and mental health of healthcare workers.

The evaluation of psychological state of dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of the present study was to assess anxiety among a sample of dentistry students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 355 dentistry students (165 males and 190 females) completed the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-I (STAI-I), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory II (STAI-II) questionnaires. and evaluations of HAI, BAI, STAI-I, and STAI-II were based on sex, dental school year, smoking habit, and lifestyle. Female students had higher HAI and BAI scores than male students (p = 0.009 and p = 0.001, respectively). Statistically significant differences in HAI scores existed between preclinical and clinical students (p = 0.048). The only statistical significant differences detected in STAI-I scores involved students with an extended family when compared to students without an extended family (p = 0.039). The HAI scores of students who had close contact were significantly higher than students who had no contact (p = 0.047). There were significant correlations between the four scales (p < 0.05). During the COVID-19 pandemic [was under control in Turkey?], the HAI scores were higher in female, clinical students and students who lived with an extended family.