Impact of mandatory social isolation measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the subjective well-being of Latin American and Caribbean dentists

María-Claudia Garcés-Elías; Roberto A León-Manco; Ana Armas-Vega; Andrés Viteri-García; Andrés A Agudelo-Suárez

doi:10.4317/jced.58776

Impact of mandatory social isolation measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the subjective well-being of Latin American and Caribbean dentists

J Clin Exp Dent. 2022 Jan 1;14(1):e40-e47. doi: 10.4317/jced.58776. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Authors

María-Claudia Garcés-Elías¹, Roberto A León-Manco¹, Ana Armas-Vega², Andrés Viteri-García^{3

4}, Andrés A Agudelo-Suárez⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Dentistry. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Lima, Peru.
² Faculty of Dentistry. Central University of Ecuador. Quito, Ecuador.
³ Epistemonikos Foundation, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Center for Research in Public Health and Clinical Epidemiology (CISPEC), Faculty of Health Sciences Eugenio Espejo, UTE University, Quito, Ecuador.
⁵ Faculty of Dentistry, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.

Abstract

Background: With the spread of the COVID-19 virus, containment measures such as home confinement were implemented, generating stress, anxiety, depression and aggravation of pre-existing diseases in the population, including dentists, who have also been affected due to the risk involved in practicing their profession. Objective: To determine the impact of mandatory social isolation measures on the subjective well-being of Latin American and Caribbean dentists during the community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Material and methods: A Cross-sectional study in a sample of 1195 dentists from 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The main outcome was Subjective Well-Being, evaluated through the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). In addition, sociodemographic characteristics, variables related to the community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic and health variables were considered. A descriptive, bivariate and multivariate (multiple linear regression) analysis was performed to observe the behavior of the variables.

Results: A multiple linear regression analysis was performed, where all the variables included within dimensions, were distributed in a single model, observing an R2% of 9.000 (p<0.001), where the R2% change was significant (p<0.001) and a constant of 44.190; likewise, within this model, the variable follow-up of preventive measures against COVID-19 reported an unstandardized regression coefficient (b) of 2. 316 (95%CI:1.133-3.499;p<0.001), the self-perceived level of concern against COVID-19 obtained a (b) of -5.470 (95%CI:-7.509--3.430; p<0.001), the biological sex variable manifested a (b) of -5.417 (95%CI: - 1.157-1.910; p<0.001); finally, the level of economic income during compulsory social isolation presented a (b)=5.354 (CI95%:3.461- 7.247; p<0.001).

Conclusions: An association was found between subjective well-being and variables related to the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as following preventive measures, concern about the pandemic and economic factors (decrease in income level), in addition to biologic sex. Follow-up strategies are required for these dental professionals, considering that social isolation measures have continued in many of the countries. Key words:Quarantine, Coronavirus infections, WHO-5, Cross-sectional studies, Latin America, Caribbean Region.