Evaluation of dentists' fear, anxiety, and work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: This study aimed to determine the fear and anxiety levels and work-life balance of postgraduate dental residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine the relationships among these variables. Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional study used a correlational design. The study included 188 of 348 postgraduate dental residents (54%) at five public universities in Ankara, Türkiye, who completed an online survey. Data were collected using the COVID-19 Fear Scale, the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, and the Work-Life Balance Scale. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis H, one-way ANOVA, and Spearman correlation tests. Results: The mean scores were 16.41 ± 5.21 for fear, 6.37 ± 2.33 for anxiety, and 37.26 ± 10.19 for work-life balance. Fear and anxiety levels were higher among female and younger dentists and among those who considered COVID-19 a serious disease. Fear levels were also higher among pedodontists, those who had received COVID-19 training, and those who found the work environment inadequate for disease prevention. Work-life balance levels were significantly lower among those who found the precautions insufficient and were weakly correlated with COVID-19 knowledge (r = 0.180) and the perception of COVID-19 as a serious disease (r = 0.164). No relationship was found between work-life balance and COVID-19-related fear and anxiety. Conclusion: Fear and anxiety among postgraduate dental residents during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with sex, age, specialty, training, and perceived workplace adequacy, but not with work-life balance. Creating working conditions that reduce fear and anxiety and support work-life balance is therefore important. The results can be used to develop policies regulating the working conditions of dentists in the post-COVID period.