Factors Associated With Healthcare Workers' Insomnia Symptoms and Fatigue in the Fight Against COVID-19, and the Role of Organizational Support

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been exposed to increased risks of insomnia and fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we identify important risk factors associated with insomnia symptoms and fatigue among HCWs, and evaluate the effect of organizational support on insomnia and fatigue symptoms.Methods: This is an online cross-sectional survey of HCWs in China administered during the COVID-19 epidemic (from February 27, 2020 to March 12, 2020). We employed the AIS-8 scale for insomnia screening, and a self-reported ten-point scale to evaluate subjects' degrees of fatigue. We also designed a four-point scale to assess the degree of social support provided on an organizational level. Additionally, we conducted logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors.Results: This study included a total of 3,557 participants, 41% of which consisted of non-frontline HCWs and 59% of which was frontline HCWs. Of the non-frontline HCWs, 49% reported insomnia symptoms, and 53.8% reported a moderate to high degree of fatigue. Meanwhile, among the frontline HCWs, the percentages for insomnia and moderate to high fatigue were 63.4% and 72.2%, respectively. Additionally, frontline HCWs and HCWs employed at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) had elevated risks of insomnia and fatigue. However, with increased organizational support, insomnia symptoms decreased among frontline HCWs. Also, organizational support mitigated the positive correlation between daily working hours and degree of fatigue among HCWs.Conclusion: Frontline HCWs and staff in Chinese CDCs have been at a high risk of insomnia symptoms and fatigue during the fight against COVID-19. This study provides evidence for the positive effects of organizational support in relation to insomnia and fatigue among HCWs. This sheds light on government responses to the COVID-19 epidemic for other countries.

Pandemic fatigue and clinical nurses’ mental health, sleep quality and job contentment during the covid‐19 pandemic: The mediating role of resilience

“…Although we found no studies involving nurses that used a similar scale to measure pandemic fatigue, a previous study of the general population showed similar findings (Labrague & Ballad, 2021). The results of the current study are in line with international studies (Zhan et al, 2020;Zou et al, 2021) that showed nurses who work directly with COVID-19 patients experience moderate-to-high levels of fatigue. Given the adverse consequences of fatigue, it is essential that institutional measures be in place to address this issue in nurses and promote their overall health and well-being.…”

“…Consistent with earlier studies (Sagherian et al, 2020), our study found poorer mental health and reduced sleep quality in frontline nurses who experienced higher pandemic fatigue levels. Research involving health care workers including doctors, pharmacists and nursing assistants has also shown that fatigue associated with the pandemic may significantly affect sleep patterns and sleep quality (Teng et al, 2020;Zou et al, 2021).…”

“…Studies have demonstrated that a greater proportion of nurses, particularly those directly taking care of COVID-19 patients, experienced a significant amount of fatigue during the peak of the pandemic (Jang et al, 2021). The incidence of moderate-to-high fatigue levels during the pandemic ranged from 35.06% to 72.2%, with more nurses experiencing physical fatigue than mental fatigue (Zhan et al, 2020;Zou et al, 2021). However, despite this evidence, it is unclear whether pandemic fatigue affects nurses' mental health, sleep patterns and job contentment.…”

Knowledge Retention of the NIH Stroke Scale among Stroke Unit Health Care Workers Using Video vs. E-Learning: Protocol for a Web-Based, Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Both pathways of the study require approximately two to four hours to be completed, and participants will be asked to repeat the 50-question quiz after one month. There is currently a high level of fatigue amongst hospital staff related to the COVID-19 pandemic [38]. Even though the personnel and the different hierarchies express a high level of enthusiasm for this type of study, uncertainty remains regarding the number of participants who will engage in this study, and attrition might be high [39].…”

Impact of institutional support on educators' subjective well-being during the transition to virtual work due to COVID-19 lockdown

“…Although some authors (Daumiller, Rinas, Hein, Janke, Dickhäuser, & Dresel, 2021 ; Kerres, 2020 ; Sokal, Trudel, & Babb, 2020 ) have noted the lack and importance of institutional support for educators during the COVID-19 transition to online learning, we identified a research gap, since the majority of studies have focused on organizational support during COVID-19 in the health sector (see Lethin et al, 2021 ; Morgantini et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ; Zou et al, 2021 ).…”