Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May 11:26:e924085.
doi: 10.12659/MSMBR.924085.

Analysis of Psychological and Sleep Status and Exercise Rehabilitation of Front-Line Clinical Staff in the Fight Against COVID-19 in China

Koulong Wu  1 , Xuemei Wei  1
Affiliations

Analysis of Psychological and Sleep Status and Exercise Rehabilitation of Front-Line Clinical Staff in the Fight Against COVID-19 in China

Koulong Wu et al. Med Sci Monit Basic Res. .

Abstract

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to understand the changes in psychological factors and sleep status of front-line medical staff in the fight against COVID-19 and provide evidence of exercise interventions to relieve psychological stress and improve sleep status for medical staff. MATERIAL AND METHODS A survey study was conducted among 120 front-line medical staff in the fight against COVID-19, of which 60 medical staff worked at the designated hospital (experimental group) and 60 medical staff worked at the non-designated hospital (control group). The Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) were used to assess mental status. Sleep status was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS SCL-90 scores of somatization, depression, anxiety, and terror were higher than normal in front-line medical staff at the designated hospital. The SAS (45.89±1.117), SDS (50.13±1.813), and PCL-C (50.13±1.813) scores in the experimental group were higher than the normal control group, and were significantly different from those in the control group on SDS and PCL-C scales (P<0.05). The total average PSQI of the experimental group was 16.07±3.761, indicating that the sleep quality was poor. Among them, participants with moderate insomnia reached 61.67%, and participants with severe insomnia reached 26.67%. CONCLUSIONS There are psychological symptoms and sleep symptoms in front-line medical staff who participate in the fight against COVID-19, and they affect each other. Hospitals should improve emergency management measures, strengthen psychological counseling for clinical front-line medical staff, strengthen exercise intervention, and improve their sleep quality and mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SCL-90 scores of front-line medical staff. SCL-90 – Symptom Checklist 90.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Impact of COVID-19 epidemic situation on sleep status of front-line medical staff.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Marine AD, Singh-Manoux A, Shipley MJ, et al. Sleep duration and sleep disturbances partly explain the association between depressive symptoms and cardiovascular mortality: The Whitehall II cohort study. J Sleep Res. 2014;23(1):94–97. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Derogatis LR, Lipman RS, Covi L. SCL-90: An outpatient psychiatric rating scale – preliminary report. Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 1973;9(1):41–47. - PubMed
    1. Derogatis LR, Rickels K, Rock AF. The SCL-90 and the MMPI: A step in the validation of a new self-report scale. Br J Psychiatry. 1976;128(3):280–89. - PubMed
    1. Holi MM, Sammallahti PR, Aalberg VA. A finnish validation study of the SCL-90. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1998;97(1):42–46. - PubMed
    1. Zung WK. A self-rating depression scale. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1965;12(1):63–69. - PubMed

MeSH terms