Sources of Sleep Disturbances and Psychological Strain for Hospital Staff Working during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Hospital staff members reported increased stress-related workload when caring for inpatients with COVID-19 (“frontline hospital staff members”). Here, we tested if depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with poor sleep and lower general health, and if social support mediated these associations. Furthermore, we compared current insomnia scores and general health scores with normative data. A total of 321 full-time frontline hospital staff members (mean age: 36.86; 58% females) took part in the study during the COVID-19 pandemic. They completed a series of questionnaires covering demographic and work-related information, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, social support, self-efficacy, and symptoms of insomnia and general health. Higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with higher symptoms of insomnia and lower general health. Higher scores of depression, anxiety, and stress directly predicted higher insomnia scores and lower general health scores, while the indirect effect of social support was modest. Compared to normative data, full-time frontline hospital staff members had a 3.14 higher chance to complain about insomnia and a significantly lower general health. Symptoms of insomnia and general health were unrelated to age, job experience, educational level, and gender. Given this background, it appears that the working context had a lower impact on individuals’ well-being compared to individual characteristics.

Influence of caring for COVID‐19 patients on nurse's turnover, work satisfaction and quality of care

“…For instance, the high levels of stress experienced by nurses due to caring for COVID‐19 patients has been reported and associated with separation from family, sleep deprivation, lack of preparedness and increased workloads due to higher health care demands and new policies and procedures to follow (e.g., Huang et al, 2020 ). The high levels of depression, anxiety and stress resulting from caring for COVID‐19 patients have also been found to be associated with high insomnia and low general health (e.g., Abdoli et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated the adverse impact of the pandemic on health care workers such as burnout, stress, depression and anxiety, with higher prevalence rates of anxiety and depression found among nurses compared with other health care workers (Pappa et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2020 ).…”

Changes of symptoms of eating disorders (ED) and their related psychological health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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When Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Predicts Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Poor Sleep—Results from a Larger Cross-Sectional and Quasi-Longitudinal Study

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