Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Quality of Sleep of Mental Health Workers in Colombia

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been reports of poor sleep quality in the general population. However, there are few studies on the sleep quality of health workers, especially mental health workers. The primary objective of the study was to establish the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of sleep of Colombian mental health workers. This study was a cross-sectional study with an analytical approach. Data gathered through an electronic self-reported questionnaire (the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index–Spanish version) was sent by email between September 27 and October 4, 2020. A total of 48.7% (209) of 429 respondents (mental health workers) slept poorly (95% confidence interval [46.3–57.1]). The lowest scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were for psychiatrists and psychologists (χ2 = 52.882, p =.000), women (χ2 = 6.393, p =.011), daytime shift workers (χ2 = 15.890, p =.0001), those who reported having dreams about the COVID-19 pandemic (χ2 = 16.001, p =.000) and those who had been in close contact with a suspected case of COVID-19 in the past month (χ2 = 10.269, p =.001). This study found that there has been a decline in the sleep quality of mental health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia.