Tabindeh J Khalid, Aletta Barnard, Imran Khalid and Mohammed R Qabajah
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Saudi Arabia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Sleep Disord Ther
Background: Studies report that the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness in the Saudi population is higher compared to that reported from other populations. It is related in part to a culture of sleep habits that leads to either insufficient sleep quantity or quality. However, whether this lifestyle impacts the sleep of non-native workers is unknown. Aim: We conducted this study to evaluate the perception of nonnative nurses regarding the influence of Saudi lifestyle on their sleep. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire that included demographics, work schedule, sleep-wake questions, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was formulated and approved for the study by the Institutional Review Board. It was distributed among a convenience sample of 150 nurses working in inpatient and outpatient clinical units of a tertiary care hospital of a major metropolitan city in Saudi Arabia. Study respondents were divided into two groups based on their response; â??Influencedâ? and â??Not-Influencedâ? by local lifestyle. Student t-test and Chi-square test were used as appropriate for data analyses. Results: 116 (77%) nurses returned the completed survey. 80 were from the inpatient units and 36 from the outpatient units. 44 (38%) of the nurses felt that their sleep was affected by the local lifestyle and were placed in the â??Influencedâ? group and remaining 72 (62%) were placed in the â??Not-Influencedâ? group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of age, gender, height, weight, hours slept during work days, sleep hygiene, working hours, work units, PSQI (3.9 vs. 4.4) and ESS (8.2 vs. 8.9). However, the nurses in â??Influencedâ? group when compared to â??Not-Influencedâ? nurses group, slept more during off-days (8.6 hours vs. 7.7 hours; p=0.02) had decrease in subjective sleep duration as compared to their sleep before coming to Saudi Arabia (p=0.02), wanted to sleep more (91% vs. 75%; p=0.03) had poor sleep environment and considered family or roommate as a factor in adversely affecting their sleep (p<0.03). Conclusion: In our study, about one third of the nonnative nurses felt that their sleep was adversely affected by the local lifestyle. These nurses slept less than their prior routine before coming to Saudi Arabia but interestingly were not sleepy while awake based on their ESS. Further studies should address the impact of this perception on nursesâ?? mood, fatigue and work performance.
Tabindeh J Khalid is a Consultant at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Saudi Arabia and worked as a Staff Physician in Michigan before joining the current position. She completed Family Medicine Residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and is a Diplomate of American Board of Family Medicine. With interest in clinical research, she has published ten papers in peer reviewed journals and presented numerous abstracts in international meetings.
Email: tabindeh@yahoo.com
