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

Nasrin Abdoli, Vahid Farnia, Somayeh Jahangiri, Farnaz Radmehr, Mostafa Alikhani, Pegah Abdoli, Omran Davarinejad, Kenneth M. Dürsteler, Annette Beatrix Brühl, Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani and Serge Brand
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Nasrin Abdoli: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
Vahid Farnia: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
Somayeh Jahangiri: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
Farnaz Radmehr: Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Khomeini and Mohammad Kermanshahi and Farabi Hospitals, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851451, Iran
Mostafa Alikhani: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
Pegah Abdoli: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
Omran Davarinejad: Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Khomeini and Mohammad Kermanshahi and Farabi Hospitals, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851451, Iran
Kenneth M. Dürsteler: Psychiatric Clinics, Division of Substance Use Disorders, University of Basel, 4002 Basel, Switzerland
Annette Beatrix Brühl: Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, 4002 Basel, Switzerland
Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
Serge Brand: Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-15

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.

Keywords: hospital staff members; COVID-19; depression; anxiety; stress; self-efficacy; social support; insomnia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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