Sleep Disturbance and Psychological Profiles of Medical Staff and Non-Medical Staff During the Early Outbreak of COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China.

Objective: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has considerably burdened the healthcare system in the Hubei Province, the most severely affected region in China. The aim of our study was to assess the psychological effects of COVID-19 epidemic on the healthcare workers in Hubei.

Methods: A total of 2737 healthcare workers were sampled using a two-dimensional code shared online between Mar 4 and Mar 9, 2020. The questionnaires consisted of three elements: baseline characteristics, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The primary outcome variables were PQSI, anxiety and depression scores of non-medical staff, non-frontline medical staff and frontline medical staff. Binary logistical regression analyses were used to compare between respondents with and without sleep disturbance.

Results: About 61.6% of the respondents reported sleep problems, 22.6% experienced anxiety, and 35% exhibited depressive symptoms. The prevalence of sleep disorders was higher among the frontline healthcare workers compared to the non-frontline and non-medical staff, while anxiety and depression were prevalent in the entire cohort. Logistic regression analysis identified medical occupation, family burden, bereavement, anxiety, and depression as significantly predictive of poor sleep quality.

Conclusions: Frontline medical staff are more vulnerable to sleep disturbances. Psychosocial interventions are needed to help allied healthcare personnel to better respond to COVID-19 and future outbreaks.