Abstract

Background: Shift workers, people who work outside workday hours, are thought to be at risk of decreased alertness and productivity; hence, there is an increased possibility of occupational hazards to happen. Hospital employment requires health professions to be available for work at all times, and this forces the healthcare workers to take on night shifts. Thus, these workers are susceptible to occupationally related sleep disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and duration of sleep among night shift health workers at the Saudi Arabian Eastern Province-hospitals.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out among health workers working in eight to ten-hour shifts at Eastern Province hospitals in Saudi Arabia. A pretested, structured online questionnaire with twenty-six questions was distributed among the hospitals to healthcare workers, with a total of 252 responses received. The online questionnaire assessed and compared the difference between the sleep quality of these workers while working during the night shift, and the quality of sleep of these workers while having days off from work.
Results: Responses of the healthcare workers to the online questionnaire who worked night shifts replied that they had problems falling and staying asleep (76% and 72.2% respectively). Of these, they suffered from overall poor quality of sleep (59.8%) and reported decreased mental function while awake (64.9%). Furthermore, 74% of respondents reported that during their days off, their occupational-related sleep disorders improved. However, more than half of the respondents noted that they faced difficulties in falling asleep.
Conclusion: Sleep disorders are prominent within night-shift healthcare workers which affected their overall performance at work. Thus, it is recommended that such healthcare workers follow-up with sleep specialists improve their overall quality of sleep.

Key words: Sleep disorders, insomnia, night shift, healthcare workers