Fulltext

Sleep Disturbances among Caregivers of Home-Isolated and Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Multi-National Cross-Sectional Study

Turabi N 1 , Tomar SP 2 , Anyagwa OE 3 , Durganaudu H 4 , Ishwarya V 5 , Kivan H 6 Show all authors , Kras MM 7 , Samouti P 8 , Khaled E 9 , Ramesh NN 10 , Krishnegowda AS 11 , Shabani MM 12 , Palacios-Garay MA 13 , Ambriz-Salas F 14 , Aigbonoga DE 15 , Bassiony M 16

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Medicine, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • 2 Department of Community Medicine, NSCBMC, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • 3 School of Medicine, New Vision University, Tbilisi, Georgia
  • 4 Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University, Malaysia
  • 5 Department of Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 6 Faculty of Medicine, OnDokuz Mayıs University, Atakum, Samsun, Turkey
  • 7 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
  • 8 Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
  • 9 School of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
  • 10 Department of Medicine, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
  • 11 Department of Medicine, Employees State Insurance Corporation Medical College, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
  • 12 Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital, Mbeya, Tanzania
  • 13 Department of Medicine, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México
  • 14 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Justo Sierra, Escuela de Medicina, México
  • 15 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
  • 16 Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt
Indian J Community Med, 2023;48(5):676-683.
PMID: 37970177 DOI: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_690_22

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began, several studies were published on the possible prevention and treatment of the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARSCoV-2), and its complications. However, one aspect that was overlooked is the impact on the mental health of the caregivers of COVID-19 patients. The current study endeavors to investigate sleep quality disturbances in the caregivers of COVID-19 patients in different countries.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional multi-center study was performed between August 1, 2021, and August 30, 2022, across 11 countries. A total of 2411 responses meeting the inclusion criteria (being a family member or caregiver involved in patient care) were collected. The sleep quality was assessed using the self-reported Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) 12. Total scores ranged from 0 to 21. A ≥5 indicated poor sleep quality with 89.6% sensitivity and 86.5% specificity.

RESULTS: A total of 2411 responses meeting the inclusion criteria showed that mean PSQI scores (P = 0.3604) were higher in caregivers of hospitalized patients than in patients isolated at home. Approximately 62.4% of caregivers reported sleep quality problems while caring for their patients.

CONCLUSION: The results showed that the majority of caregivers of patients with COVID-19 reported disturbances in sleep quality and impaired sleep was more common among caregivers of hospitalized patients, perhaps because hospitalization is associated with a more severe course of the disease. There is a pressing need to take measures to improve the mental health of these caregivers. There should be treatment programs set up to reverse sleep disturbances in this population sufficiently.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Similar publications