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E u r o S c i C o n C o n f e r e n c e o n
Dental & Dental
Hygiene
Journal of Dental and Craniofacial Research
ISSN 2576-392X
M a r c h 2 6 - 2 7 , 2 0 1 8
E d i n b u r g h , S c o t l a n d
Dental & Dental Hygiene 2018
Page 40
D
espite a recent trend to investigate students’ stressors in dentistry learning
environments, there is little research on students’ stressors in the oral health
learning environments. This study aimed to identify self-perceived stressors of
Bachelor of Oral Health students to determine if the learning support provided at
the University of Otago, Faculty of Dentistry, New Zealand is meeting student’s
needs. All Bachelor of Oral Health students (n=135) were invited to complete
an online modified version of the Dental Environmental Stress Survey. The
survey consisted of 39 questions: 7 collecting demographic information, 1 free
comment box, and 31 items related to various potential sources of stress which
students were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from ‘not at
all stressful’ to ‘extremely stressful’. Additionally, the student learning support
system was examined. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS software.
Around half of the group of respondents were first-year students, with participants
from second and third years equally distributed. The items ‘fear of being unable
to catch up if behind’ and ‘examinations and assessments’ scored the highest,
indicating that the students perceived these to be their greatest stressors. Overall,
academic requirements were the highest scoring self-perceived stressors for
students from all year groups. Stressors related to the clinical environment were
highest for second-year students, which is when students start seeing patients.
Although there is an existing network of support for students, the study identified
several self-perceived stressors over 3 years of Bachelor of Oral Health study
that have implications for student support. We describe how existing student
support correlates to the findings, and areas where support might be increased.
We conclude with directions for future research to better understand students’
support needs in the oral health learning environment.
Biography
Hanna Olson has a Master’s Degree in Integrative Health Sci-
ence from the University of Kristianstad, Sweden. In 2015, she
joined the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago; New Zea-
land’s National Centre for Dentistry, as a Lecturer in the Depart-
ment of Oral Sciences. Hanna is nowHead of Discipline for Den-
tal Hygiene. She has 15 years of clinical work experience as a
Dental Hygienist in Scandinavia, providing care for patients of all
ages in different settings including private practice, the Commu-
nity Dental Service, Specialist Dentistry within the Department
of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinic and Hospital Dentistry.
She has first-hand experience in outreach oral health care and
health promotion, which are her core areas of teaching. Some
of her interests are multi-professional team work, internation-
al collaboration, health care supervision and research on oral
health education.
hanna.olson@otago.ac.nzSelf-perceived stressors of Bachelor of
oral health students and level of support
in the oral health learning environment
H. Olsonz, D. Beckett, S. Moffat, L. Adam, A. Tawse-Smith
Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry (University of Otago, NZ)
Hanna Olson et al., J Den Craniofac Res 2018, Volume: 3
DOI: 10.21767/2576-392X-C1-001