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. 2010 Apr-Jun;14(2):187-93.
doi: 10.3109/10903120903524971.

Sleep quality and fatigue among prehospital providers

P Daniel Patterson  1 , Brian P Suffoletto, Douglas F Kupas, Matthew D Weaver, David Hostler
Affiliations

Sleep quality and fatigue among prehospital providers

P Daniel Patterson et al. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2010 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Fatigue is common among medical professionals and has been linked to poor performance and medical error. Objective. To characterize sleep quality and its association with severe fatigue in emergency medical services (EMS) providers.

Methods: We studied a convenience sample of EMS providers who completed three surveys: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ), and a demographic survey. We used established measures to examine survey psychometrics and performed t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi-square tests to identify differences in PSQI and CFQ scores.

Results: One hundred nineteen surveys were completed. The eight-hour shift was most commonly reported (35.4%). A majority of subjects were overweight (41.9%) or obese (42.7%), and 59.6% had been diagnosed with one or more health conditions (e.g., diabetes). Results from psychometric tests were positive. The mean (+/- standard deviation) PSQI score was 9.2 (+/- 3.7). A CFQ score > or =4, indicating severe mental and physical fatigue, was present in 44.5% of the subjects. The mean PSQI score was higher among those reporting severe fatigue (11.3 +/- 3.2) than among those not reporting fatigue (7.5 +/- 3.0, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that the sleep quality and fatigue status of EMS workers are at unhealthy levels. The health and safety of the EMS worker and patient population should be considered in light of these results.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score in patients treated for clinical depression, in previously studied healthy control subjects, and in the emergency medical services (EMS) study sample. “Buysse et al 1989” refers to Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychi- atr Res. 1989;28:193--213.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of subjects reporting severe fatigue stratified by years of experience. The overall proportion of subjects reporting severe fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire [CFQ] >4) was 44.5%.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score stratified by the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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