Factoring and correlation in sleep, fatigue and mental workload of clinical first-line nurses in the post-pandemic era of COVID-19: A multi-center cross-sectional study

Yan Liu; Ji Shu Xian; Rui Wang; Kang Ma; Fei Li; Fei Long Wang; Xue Yang; Ning Mu; Kai Xu; Yu Lian Quan; Shi Wang; Ying Lai; Chuan Yan Yang; Teng Li; Yanchun Zhang; Binbin Tan; Hua Feng; Tu Nan Chen; Li Hua Wang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.963419

Factoring and correlation in sleep, fatigue and mental workload of clinical first-line nurses in the post-pandemic era of COVID-19: A multi-center cross-sectional study

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Aug 25:13:963419. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.963419. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yan Liu¹, Ji Shu Xian², Rui Wang², Kang Ma², Fei Li², Fei Long Wang², Xue Yang², Ning Mu², Kai Xu³, Yu Lian Quan², Shi Wang², Ying Lai², Chuan Yan Yang², Teng Li¹, Yanchun Zhang², Binbin Tan², Hua Feng², Tu Nan Chen³, Li Hua Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Southwest Hospital, Administrative Office, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³ Southwest Hospital, Army Aviation Medicine Teaching and Research Office, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Abstract

Background: A better understanding of the factors and their correlation with clinical first-line nurses' sleep, fatigue and mental workload is of great significance to personnel scheduling strategies and rapid responses to anti-pandemic tasks in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

Objective: This multicenter and cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the nurses' sleep, fatigue and mental workload and contributing factors to each, and to determine the correlation among them.

Methods: A total of 1,004 eligible nurses (46 males, 958 females) from three tertiary hospitals participated in this cluster sampling survey. The Questionnaire Star online tool was used to collect the sociodemographic and study target data: Sleep quality, fatigue, and mental workload. Multi-statistical methods were used for data analysis using SPSS 25.0 and Amos 21.0.

Results: The average sleep quality score was 10.545 ± 3.399 (insomnia prevalence: 80.2%); the average fatigue score was 55.81 ± 10.405 (fatigue prevalence: 100%); and the weighted mental workload score was 56.772 ± 17.26. Poor sleep was associated with mental workload (r = 0.303, P < 0.05) and fatigue (r = 0.727, P < 0.01). Fatigue was associated with mental workload (r = 0.321, P < 0.05). COVID-19 has caused both fatigue and mental workload. As 49% of nurses claimed their mental workload has been severely affected by COVID-19, while it has done slight harm to 68.9% of nurses' sleep quality.

Conclusion: In the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, the high prevalence of sleep disorders and fatigue emphasizes the importance of paying enough attention to the mental health of nurses in first-class tertiary hospitals. Efficient nursing strategies should focus on the interaction of sleep, fatigue and mental workload in clinical nurses. In that case, further research on solutions to the phenomenon stated above proves to be of great significance and necessity.

Clinical trial registration: [https://clinicaltrials.gov/], identifier [ChiCTR2100053133].

Keywords: COVID-19; cross-sectional study; fatigue; mental health; mental workload; post-pandemic era; sleep quality.