Evaluation of Sleep Quality of Anesthesiologists Working in Turkey

Objective: Sleep is one of the basic daily activities that are important for an individual with physical, mental, social, and intellectual needs to be in good physical and mental health. Although many definitions are made, sleep; is a complex and physiological event affected by pathophysiological, physical, psychological, and environmental factors. Anesthesiologists often work in closed environments and with long working hours, which can cause severe, chronic sleep loss and sleep disruption. Sleeplessness and low sleep quality can cause decreased attention during the day, impaired judgment, and delays in decision-making. This study, it is aimed to determine the sleep quality of Anesthesiology and Reanimation specialists working in Turkey. Methods: The study included all anesthesiologists whose e-mail addresses were registered with the Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation and who worked in Turkey. Survey questions, which the participants can answer electronically, were sent to the participant's e-mail addresses. To increase the number of participants, a reminder email was sent three weeks after the first email. The data were expressed as a number, percentage, mean, and standard deviation and the correlation between the parameters will be evaluated at a 95% confidence interval by performing Pearson correlation analysis; p< 0.05 was accepted as significant. Results: Due to seven people with sleep disorders being excluded from the study, 210 out of 217 people who answered the questionnaires sent by email to the anesthetists who are members of the Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation were included in the study. Of the respondents who worked in the following fields: 30% (n = 63) State Hospital, 33.3% (n = 70) University Hospital, 17.1% (n = 36) Ministry of Health Affiliate Hospital, 19.5% (n = 41) Private Hospital, and 73.3% (n = 154) at the Operating Room, 10% (n = 21) at the Intensive Care, 15.2% (n = 32) at the Operating Room + Intensive Care, and 1.4% (n = 3) at other departments, 48.4% (n = 105) were male, 51.6% (n = 112) were female, with a mean age of 41.5±7.6 years. The average hourly shift for the participants, 61% of whom were on the night shift, was 50 hours per month, and 25% were working more than 45 hours per week. Conclusion: The sleep quality of anesthesiologists is poor, which causes daytime dysfunction. It is thought that the reason for poor sleep quality, in general, is the adverse effects of their duties and responsibilities, working environment, and operating conditions on sleep quality.