Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to control it has caused a huge impact on our environment and has exposed Healthcare Workers (HCWs) to the unprecedented threat. In this study, we seek to assess health personnel's stress and sleep-related issues directly dedicated to caring for COVID-19 patients.
Aim: To study the psychological impact of COVID-19 on sleep among frontline HCWs.
Objective:
1. To assess the level of psychological stress among frontline HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic using PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) questionnaire.
2. To determine the factors associated with perceived stress among frontline HCWs during COVID 19 pandemic
3. To assess sleep quality, daytime sleepiness and insomnia using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia severity index (ISI-7) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in India among 271 HCWs to evaluate the perceived stress and sleep disturbances of HCWs taking care of COVID-19 patients. The study was conducted during the COVID pandemic over a period of one month between June and July 2021, using a pre-designed, pre-tested, validated, and semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic data, work-related aspects, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was employed to determine the continuous data sets which followed a normal distribution.
Results: Out of the 271 participants, 142 were PG (Post-Graduate) doctors, and 129 were the nursing staff. The overall mean age was 28.07 ± 3.634 years, of whom about 52% were females. Moderate to severe stress was found in many participants (54.4%). 54.61% had poor sleep quality, 50.55% had insomnia, and 19.18% had daytime sleepiness. Being a doctor, having many work sites, drug/substance/alcohol abuse for sleep, prophylaxis, admission of colleagues requiring ventilatory support if infected with COVID-19, paucity of medical supplies, bereavement, and any form of violence by attendees were all recognised as stress predictors.
Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of perceived stress and slept disturbances among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early screening and identification of HCWs at risk are essential for protecting and maintaining the functionality of the healthcare system. In the future, stress management should be an integral part of the curriculum of doctors so that they can serve humanity efficiently during such crisis times.
Key words: COVID 19, frontline health care workers, psychological impact, stress, sleep
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