Salwa A. AlSadhan1 BDS, MSc
Amel G. Darwish2 BDS, MSc, PhD
Abeer AlSwailem3 BDS
Amal AlShehri4 BDS
AlHanouf AlMutrafi5 BDS
ABSTRACT:
AIM: To assess the prevalence of psychosocial hazards encountered by dentists working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and evaluate the factors that might be related to these hazards.
METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, in which a sample of 623 dentists was selected from governmental hospitals, private hospitals and clinics, and academic institutions in Riyadh. Each selected dentist was asked to fill a questionnaire concerning the encountered psychosocial challenges caused by the dental profession. Scores were recorded and data analysis was performed using the MS Office Excel and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). Comparisons were performed using Chi-square test.
RESULTS: The most prevalent psychosocial hazards reported were lack of time available to spend with their families (78.6%) followed by being under stress (75.7%). Regarding worries related to the dental profession, dealing with uncooperative or anxious patients was reported by the majority of the participants (75.4%), followed by causing pain (73.5%), then running behind schedule (71.1%). A statistically significant relation was found between gender and lack of time available for dentists to spend with their families (p=0.024) as females were affected more than their male counterparts. There were statistically significant relations between type of practice (governmental, private or academic) and both lack of free time and neglected family needs (p=0.028 and 0.007, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Reduction of free time available and being under stress were the main psychosocial hazards encountered by dentists working in Riyadh. The most common related factors were dealing with uncooperative or anxious patients, worrying about causing pain to patients, and running behind schedules.
HOW TO CITE: AlSadhan SA, Darwish AG, AlSwailem A, AlShehri A, AlMutrafi A. Psychosocial Hazards among Dentists Working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. J Pak Dent Assoc 2016; 25(4): 150-57
KEYWORDS: Psychosocial, hazards, Dentists, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Received: 29 October 2016, Accepted: 25 December 2016
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