English abstract
Objectives: We sought to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Oman
Dental College (ODC) students' management of their educational and student life.
Methods: We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional online survey study using
SurveyMonkey. During the 2019–2020 academic year, 383 ODC students across six
levels of education were invited to participate in the survey. Descriptive statistics were
applied to the students' demographic profiles, and other characteristics of the participants'
data were analyzed. Cronbach's alpha was calculated for internal consistency. A univariate
analysis was carried out to identify the differences between genders and between the
Bachelor of Dental Surgery levels in relation to the questionnaire themes. A Pearson's
correlation test evaluated the association between students' perception of risks due to the
pandemic and the other relevant themes. Results: A 50.9% response rate revealed that
five of the themes showed internal reliability ranging from excellent to acceptable, namely:
performance of exercise, effect of the pandemic on their families, use of a facemask,
college's online services, and students' mental health (0.51, 0.59, 0.70, 0.78, and 0.90,
respectively). More than half of the participants felt encouraged to engage in self-directed
learning using online resources. They felt some level of nervousness, worry, anxiety, or
tension as well as stress during the pandemic. Statistical differences between levels of
education were noted in the ODC's-online teaching services (p < 0.001) and students'
mental health (p = 0.03). There was no difference between female and male students.
The ODC's online services theme positively related to the students' mental health theme
(r = 0.22, p < 0.001). Conclusions: ODC students experienced some mental health
issues during the pandemic, including anxiety, stress, and sleeping issues. However, the
majority of them were healthy. Most students were satisfied with the online teaching
provided by ODC. It was also evident that faculty were always connected with the
students. A positive relationship was noted between the management of online lectures
and students' mental health.
