Sleep quality and psychological status of health professionals in Egypt during COVID-19 era

Abstract

Background: Good quality sleep is crucial for human well-being. COVID-19 pandemic affected tremendously the quality of life in human specially the health professionals dealing with the patients with COVID-19 in difficult and unusual circumstances. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the sleep quality among the Egyptian health professionals during the peak of the COVID-19 time and the degree of the psychological distress they have experienced using validated tools and to investigate the link between both. Patients and methods : this is a cross sectional study. an online survey was distributed through the social media and online platforms to be filled by Egyptian health professional . The survey included the socio-demographic information, work details, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality (PSQI) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) amid of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results : 146 health professionals responded to the online questionnaire which included some epidemiological data, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). 60% were females and mean age was 37.47 years. The mean PSQI and the GHQ-12 were 7.8 and 14.55 respectively. More than half of the respondents had some degree of psychological distress and about 67% of them had a poor sleep quality. Moreover, there was a positive association between the GHQ and the PSQI. Conclusion: Sleep quality among the health professionals was affected and linked to the degree of the psychological distress they experience. This warrants the importance of the psychological support that the health professionals needs especially in the current global situation. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT04395300. Registered 19 May 2020. Retrospectively registered,https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT04395300

Keywords

• sleep quality; general health questionnaire; health care providers