Sleep duration and satisfaction among physicians in tertiary public hospitals in China: a large sample national survey

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To investigate the sleep duration and level of satisfaction among physicians in tertiary public hospitals in China, and to explore associated factors. Methods A national online cross-sectional survey was conducted. Totally 20,786 physicians from 136 hospitals participated in the survey. Data were collected using an online self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive and logistic regression statistics were performed using the STATA software. Results The mean total sleep duration was 6.37 ± 0.87 h. Of all participants, 61.06% (n = 12,691) reported short sleep duration (less than 7 h per day). 46.97% (n = 9764) were not satisfied with their sleep. An older age and job-related factors (longer working hours per week, specialty including internal medicine, Ob/GYN and emergency medicine, working more night shifts, heavier workload, and working in East China) were significantly associated with reported short sleep duration. Conclusions The majority of physicians in Chinese public hospitals experienced insufficient sleep duration. Changes are required to improve the wellbeing of physicians and patient outcomes.

Keywords

• Short sleep duration
• Prevalence
• Physicians
• Tertiary public hospitals
• China