Distance learning during social seclusion by COVID-19: Improving the quality of life of undergraduate dentistry students

Abstract

Background: Social isolation is ongoing worldwide with the aim to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, social isolation leads to significant psycho-emotional changes. This study aimed to assess the effect of distance education (DE) activities implemented due to social isolation, on the quality of life of undergraduate dentistry students. Method: An e-questionnaire (Google Forms®) was administered to identify specific DE activities after social isolation and included the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-Bref questionnaire. The e-questionnaire was sent 14 days after the initiation of social isolation, remaining available for 48 hours. Cronbach's alpha and the means of the quality-of-life domains were calculated and analysed using the Friedman/Dunn and Spearman's correlation tests. After ranking, chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests plus multinomial logistic regression were performed (SPSS, P