Prevalence of sleepiness and associated factors among healthcare staff: a cross-sectional study in a university hospital in Palestine

Purpose: This study assesses sleep quality by measuring daytime sleepiness and the associated factors among healthcare professionals at a large university hospital. Method: The study used a quantitative cross-sectional design, conducted using the Arabic version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and was done based on the STROBE guidelines. Results: Participants aged between 30 to 34 years represent 35.7% and between 25 to 29 years represent 32.1%. Most of the participants (52.0%) worked from 1 to 5 years at this hospital, and 64.7% of them worked from 30 to 40 hours per week. More than half of the participants (56.0%) reported having normal sleep; however, 25.4% reported that they may be excessively sleepy depending on the situation, and 2.8% reported that they are excessively sleepy and should seek medical attention. There was a statistically significant association between sleepiness and gender using multivariate analysis (p-value = 0.032); female staff (mean rank =137.36) reported more sleepiness than males (mean rank =117.67). Conclusions: About one-third of participants reported excessive daytime sleepiness, which could show the need for medical attention. Daytime sleepiness could affect the sleep quality and thus the staff's performance. It is essential to seek interventions to improve the work environment for healthcare staff to improve their sleep quality and job performance. Staff may require effective lifestyle changes to improve their sleep quality.