Risk factors for the prevalence of poor sleep quality in lecturers during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: an institution-based cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and risk factors of poor sleep quality (SQ) among the academic staff at the University of Gondar, Northwestern Ethiopia. DESIGN: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2021. A validated, self-administered, standardised Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to quantify the amount of self-reported poor SQ. The collected data were entered into EpiData V.4.6 and analysed using Stata V.14 software. Binary logistic regressions were computed to determine the association between variables. The association was determined using an adjusted OR (AOR) with a 95% CI at a p value of <0.05. SETTING: The study was conducted at the University of Gondar, Northwestern Ethiopia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 607 lecturers participated in this study. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome is the prevalence of poor SQ, which was measured using the PSQI. RESULTS: Overall response rate was 95.60% (N=607). The age of the participants ranges from 21 to 70 with a mean of 32.39 (SD±6.80) years. The magnitude of poor SQ during the COVID-19 pandemic in the last month was 60.30% (95% CI (56.28% to 64.21%)). Working greater than 10 hours per day (AOR=2.19, 95% CI (1.16 to 4.27)), electronic device use before bedtime (AOR=1.53, 95% CI (1.04 to 2.27)), high-risk perception of COVID-19 infections (AOR=1.60, 95% CI (1.04 to 2.46)) and perceived job stress (AOR=2.15 (95% CI (1.50 to 3.08)) were risk factors for poor SQ. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the prevalence of poor SQ was high during the COVID-19 pandemic. The finding highlights the importance of optimising the working hours per day, minimising electronic device use before bedtime, promoting risk perception toward COVID-19 infection and developing workplace coping strategies for stress, which play a substantial role in minimising poor SQ.