Sleep Disturbances Rate among Medical and Allied Health Professions Students in Iran: Implications from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Literature

Mojtaba Khaksarian, Masoud Behzadifar, Meysam Behzadifar, Firuzeh Jahanpanah, Ottavia Guglielmi, Sergio Garbarino, Paola Lanteri, Tania Simona Re, Riccardo Zerbetto, Juan José Maldonado Briegas, Matteo Riccò and Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
Additional contact information
Mojtaba Khaksarian: Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center & Physiology Department, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad 6814993165, Iran
Masoud Behzadifar: Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad 6813833946, Iran
Meysam Behzadifar: Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
Firuzeh Jahanpanah: Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad 6813833946, Iran
Ottavia Guglielmi: Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Sergio Garbarino: Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Paola Lanteri: Neurophysiopathology Centre, Department of Diagnostics and Applied Technology, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Neurologico “C. Besta”, 20133 Milan, Italy
Tania Simona Re: UNESCO Chair “Health Anthropology Biosphere and Healing Systems”, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Riccardo Zerbetto: GESTALT Study Center (CSTG), 20129 Milano, Italy
Juan José Maldonado Briegas: Department of Psychology and Sociology of Education, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Matteo Riccò: Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Servizio di Prevenzione e Sicurezza degli Ambienti di lavoro (Department of Public Health, Occupational Health and Safety Services), 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi: Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Medicine and healthcare professions are prestigious and valued careers and, at the same time, demanding, challenging, and arduous jobs. Medical and allied health professions students, experiencing a stressful academic and clinical workload, may suffer from sleep disturbances. In Iran, several studies have been conducted to explore the prevalence rate among medical and healthcare professions students. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to quantitatively and rigorously summarize the existing scholarly literature, providing the decision- and policy-makers and educators with an updated, evidence-based synthesis. Only studies utilizing a reliable psychometric instrument, such as the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), were included, in order to have comparable measurements and estimates. Seventeen investigations were retained in the present systematic review and meta-analysis, totaling a sample of 3586 students. Studies were conducted between 2008 and 2018 and reported an overall rate of sleep disturbances of 58% (95% confidence interval or CI 45–70). No evidence of publication bias could be found, but formal analyses on determinants of sleep disturbances could not be run due to the dearth of information that could be extracted from studies. Poor sleep is highly prevalent among Iranian medical and healthcare professions students. Based on the limitations of the present study, high-quality investigations are urgently needed to better capture the determinants of poor sleep quality among medical and healthcare professions students, given the importance and the implications of such a topic.

Keywords: sleep disturbances; sleep quality; Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); medical students; academic and clinical performance; Iran; systematic review and meta-analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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