Poor Quality of Sleep among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Care Centre.

Introduction: Health personnel work under highly stressful conditions with long work hours, frequent night work, and shift duties resulting in sleep problems. Sleep problems lead to a decline in performance, cognition, memory, decision-making, medical errors and mental disorders. The study aimed to find out the prevalence of poor quality of sleep among healthcare workers in a tertiary care centre. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, paramedics) of a tertiary care centre after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. Data was collected from 1 October to 1 December 2023. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 127 healthcare workers, the prevalence of poor quality of sleep was seen in 61 (48.03%) (39.34-56.72, 95% Confidence Interval). A total of 31 (50.82%) were female and 30 (49.18%) were male. Conclusions: The prevalence of poor sleep quality was found to be higher than that of other studies done in similar settings. There is a need to enhance institutional support like incorporating flexible work schedules, and regular wellness programs to alleviate poor sleep quality among healthcare workers. Keywords: health personnel; mental disorders; prevalence; quality of sleep; sleep.

Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic in a Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Health personnel working in the frontline to deal with COVID 19 outbreak are at increased risk of developing psychological problems. This study aims to find out the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among Nepalese health care workers. METHODS: This is a hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from July 10 2020 to September 10, 2020. All health care workers (total 280) were included in the study. HADS-14 item was used to measure anxiety and depression. Perceived stress scale was used to measure stress. Data was analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 24.0. Statistical data was analyzed by percentage, mean and standard deviation. RESULTS: Out of total 270 respondents the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress was found to be 112 (41.4%), 65 (24.1%) and 203 (74%) respectively. Females accounted for 148 (54.8%) and males 122 (45.2%). More than one third 96 (35.6%) of the health workers were working in front line. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress is higher among health workers when compared to similar studies. Effective strategies toward improving the mental health like adequate rest, supply of protective equipments, frequent breaks, ensuring safety issues of their family members, training on management of stress might be helpful in reducing stress.