TY - JOUR
T1 - Sleep Quality between Nurses and the General Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal
T2 - What Are the Differences?
AU - Sampaio, Francisco
AU - Gaspar, Susana
AU - Fonseca, César
AU - Lopes, Manuel José
AU - Paiva, Teresa
AU - Guedes de Pinho, Lara
N1 - Funding Information:
This research received no funding.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Although several studies have described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on sleep quality, there are few studies that, in the same time period and using the same assessment tools, compare sleep quality and mental health status between nurses and the general population. Thus, the aim of this study was to (a) examine whether there were differences between nurses and the general population regarding sleep quality and mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) identify which factors may explain sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do that, we carried out a cross-sectional study in Portugal. Data were collected using an online survey platform during the first COVID-19 wave, from April to August 2020. Nurses presented poorer sleep quality than the general population, as well as higher anxiety levels. Irritability and worries about the future were two of the factors that might explain those differences. Thus, we can conclude that irritability and worries about the future are dimensions of anxiety that were associated with poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it would be important to adopt regular anxiety and sleep assessments, particularly for nurses, and to implement strategies to reduce this problem.
AB - Although several studies have described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on sleep quality, there are few studies that, in the same time period and using the same assessment tools, compare sleep quality and mental health status between nurses and the general population. Thus, the aim of this study was to (a) examine whether there were differences between nurses and the general population regarding sleep quality and mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) identify which factors may explain sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do that, we carried out a cross-sectional study in Portugal. Data were collected using an online survey platform during the first COVID-19 wave, from April to August 2020. Nurses presented poorer sleep quality than the general population, as well as higher anxiety levels. Irritability and worries about the future were two of the factors that might explain those differences. Thus, we can conclude that irritability and worries about the future are dimensions of anxiety that were associated with poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it would be important to adopt regular anxiety and sleep assessments, particularly for nurses, and to implement strategies to reduce this problem.
KW - COVID-19
KW - cross-sectional studies
KW - mental health
KW - nurses
KW - pandemics
KW - population
KW - Portugal
KW - sleep quality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85153729453&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph20085531
DO - 10.3390/ijerph20085531
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85153729453
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 8
M1 - 5531
ER -