The level of affect of dentists working in Diyarbakir public hospitals by COVID-19 pandemia

Objective: This study aims to determine the level of depression experienced by dentists working in public hospitals in Diyarbakır during the Covid-19 pandemic in the last week compared to the pre-pandemic period. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 dentists were included in the study. A questionnaire consisting of 30 questions regarding sociodemographic data and Beck depression scale was applied to the participants. Scores determined according to Beck depression scale were evaluated as follows: 0-9 points no normally; 10-16 points mild depression; 17-29 points moderate depression; 30-63 points severe depression. The data obtained were analyzed with IBM SPSS 21 software. Shapiro-Wilk test was used in cases where the variables came from the normal distribution. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis-H tests were used to examine the differences between groups. If significant differences were observed, the evaluation was made with the Post-Hoc Multiple Comparison Test. While interpreting the results, it was accepted that there was a significant difference if p <0.05. Results: In our study, in terms of Beck depression measurement score; No statistically significant difference was found between gender, marital status, institution of study, informative education about the pandemic and the state of having Covid-19 disease.There is a statistically significant difference between age groups in terms of Beck score. Those over 40 years of age had significantly lower Beck scores than those aged 20-40 years. There was a statistically significant difference between occupational titles in terms of Beck score. The Beck scores of those who were faculty members were significantly lower than those who were research assistants. There was a statistically significant difference between working status in filigion. The score of those who did not work on radiation was significantly lower than those who did not work. There was a statistically significant difference between feeling the need for psychological support or taking medication during this period. Conclusion: Beck's score average of the participants was found to be 15.03. Based on the findings of the study, it can be said that dentists working in public hospitals in Diyarbakır have a mild level of depression. The Covid-19 pandemic we are in has highlighted the importance of emergency action plans and optimizing cross-infection control protocols in dental education and clinical services. Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic, Dentistry, Beck Depression Scale