Occupational stress among dental house officers and students in a tertiary healthcare centre.

Objective: To assess occupational stress among dental house officers and students treating patients in a tertiary healthcare centre in Nigeria.

Materials and methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of dental officers and final year dental students at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City was conducted in the second half of 2010. The questionnaire utilized was a modified form of stress screening questionnaire of International Stress Management Association.

Results: Out of the 100 questionnaires distributed, 88 questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 88.0%. A total of 53 (60.2%) the respondents were male and 35 (39.8%) were females. Dental students constituted 54 (61.4%) of the respondents while the remaining 34 (38.6%) were house officers. Amongst the respondents, 9 (10.2%), 68 (77.8%) and 11 (12.5%) reported severe, moderate and mild occupational stress respectively. The reported stress was significantly associated with gender (P = 0.032) as more female reported severe stress and more male reported moderate stress. The mean stress level was significantly higher among dental students than house officers (P = 0.007).

Conclusion: One in every ten respondent reported severe occupational stress with a significant gender difference. Development of stress reduction strategies for dental house officers and students with gender bias is imperative.