Knowledge of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and sleep problems among a selected sample of psychiatric hospital staff in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads, sleep problems are expected to increase among healthcare workers. Therefore, we aimed to assess the knowledge of COVID-19, sleep problem and identify sociodemographic factors associated with sleep problems among healthcare workers in a Nigerian neuropsychiatric hospital. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 healthcare workers in a neuropsychiatric hospital using self-administered questionnaires to assess knowledge of COVID-19, sleep problem, social support, and sociodemographic factors that affect sleep. Chi-square test and Spearman's correlation were applied to assess the association between sociodemographic factors and sleep problems. RESULTS: about 23.9% of the healthcare workers reported having a sleep problem. However, there was no association of sleep problems with any sociodemographic factors except age (r=0.26) and social support (r=-0.18). CONCLUSION: the study offered insight into the occurrence of sleep problems among healthcare workers and suggested a guide for planning interventions targeted at improving the psychological well-being of healthcare workers in the face of current global pandemics.