Assessment of Sleep Problems among Healthcare Providers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh

Background: Sleep disturbance occur in 10%-15% of the general population. This study aimed to assess sleep problems, and identify the factors effecting sleep among healthcare providers in KAMC.
Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted with currently working healthcare providers using self-administered questionnaire to assess sleeping habits, factors that affect sleep, specific sleep disorders. Chi square test and logistic regression was applied
to assess the association between different factors with sleep disorders.
Results: Total 154 respondents retuned the questionnaire comprising 41 males and 112 females. Sleep disorders were reported among 52.5% healthcare providers. The most common sleep problem having significant association was feeling of being
tired during day time reported by 101 (90%) females (p-value=0.020). Healthcare providers who were working alternating day and night shifts were more likely to have sleep problems (OR=0.33, 95% CI=0.13–0.82, p-value=0.017).
Conclusion: Sleep disorders are very common among healthcare providers. Irregular work schedules often result in disruption of normal circadian rhythm, which effect performance. Presence of sleep problems affects the day time performance due to feeling of
tiredness and sleepiness. More focus on arrangement of suitable working shifts for the healthcare workers is needed.