Dental Educators' Perceptions of Factors Contributing to Their Well-being-A Qualitative Study

Stress levels within academic institutions are high and have continued to rise over recent decades. This can have a detrimental impact on the well-being of dental educators and puts them at a risk of burnout. It is vital to explore the factors that affect the well-being of staff and identify solutions to inform the development of strategies for the promotion of well-being.

Participants attending the ADEE annual conference were invited to participate in a qualitative study using focus group discussions to explore this topic. Prompts for the four focus group discussions were identified from quantitative data collected in an earlier study conducted by the research group. The transcribed data were coded and analysed by two of the researchers to identify emerging themes.

Four key themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) Workload with an additional three subthemes of poor collegiality, poor uptake of well-being services and gender; (2) stigma associated with poor well-being; (3) workplace culture; and (4) proposed solutions for promotion of staff well-being.

It is vital for educational institutions to build strong foundations of basic well-being and resilience within their workforce by providing an environment and culture that supports both good mental health and good understandings of mental health. This requires a change in workplace culture in terms of the value institutions hold on the benefits of having good well-being and sustainable resilience at all levels of the workforce.