Sleep quality and the associated factors among in-hospital nursing assistants in general hospital: A cross-sectional study()

BACKGROUND: Sleep quality and the associated factors in professional nurses have been extensively investigated. However, as an important part of the workforce in hospitals, sleep quality and influencing factors among in-hospital nursing assistants is rarely investigated. AIM: This study aimed to assess the sleep quality and the associated factors of in-hospital nursing assistants in general hospital. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in a tertiary general hospital. Data were collected from 187 in-hospital nursing assistants using convenience sampling from June to July 2018. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate participants’ sleep quality. A multiple linear regression was performed to identify associated factors with sleep quality. RESULTS: This study revealed a mean PSQI score of 5.96 ± 3.64 among all participants, of which 62.3% (114/187) participants suffered from impaired sleep quality. In-hospital nursing assistants with significant medical condition, low monthly income, irregular diet and high family burden reported more worse sleep quality. CONCLUSION: The study showed that poor sleep quality is a highly prevalent issue among Chinese in-hospital nursing assistants in general hospital. Measures to enhance nursing assistants’ wellbeing status (health and burden) and improve their salary (monthly income) are recommended.