Are Dental Students Afraid of the Coronavirus? A Pilot Study Using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes in all segments of society, including with impact on dental education. Objective: To evaluate the fear of COVID-19 in dental students. Methodology: Cross-sectional study composed of 40 dental students from a private university. Data were collected regarding sociodemographic issues and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was applied. The data were tabulated using the IBM SPSS software and analyzed descriptively (absolute and percentage frequencies, measures of central tendency and variability). Results: Most students were female (60.0%), between 16 and 20 years old (50.0%) and 45.0% had a monthly family income of more than one and less than three minimum wages. The average of the total score on the FCV-19S was 18.45 (SD = 6.08), with a minimum score of 7 and a maximum of 30. Most students showed “little fear” of COVID-19 (55.0 %). The items “I am very afraid of COVID-19”, “I am afraid of dying because of COVID-19”, and “I get nervous or anxious when I see news in the newspapers and on social media about COVID-19” obtained the highest average values. Conclusion: Most students showed little fear of COVID-19, despite the items “I am very afraid of COVID-19”, “I am afraid of dying because of COVID-19” and “I get nervous or anxious when I see news in newspapers and social media about COVID-19” having obtained the highest average values.