Day time sleepiness and work ability index in health care workers

Introduction: Hospital personnel are susceptible to sleep disorders due to their occupational nature, which has a negative impact on their behavioral and cognitive function and can decrease their ability to work. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between daytime sleepiness and its affecting factors and work ability index. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 384 personnel of different departments of Al-Zahra hospital in Isfahan who were selected by quota sampling based on the ratio of number of staff of each job title to the total number of hospital personnel. For participants a checklist of demographic and occupational variables and two questionnaires: ESS (Epworth sleepiness scale) and WAI (Work Ability Index) were completed. Scores 13 and more for ESS questionnaire were considered as daytime sleepiness, and scores 28 and less for the WAI questionnaire were considered as poor performance. Result: 48% of participants were male and 52% were female. The mean age of the participants was 35.79±7.65 years and their mean working experience was 10.48±7.24 years. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between daytime sleepiness and demographic and occupational variables other than gender and educational level. Regarding the work ability index a significant relationship was seen with the above variables except gender, educational level and job title. A strong reverse and significant relationship was observed between daily drowsiness and the work ability index. Conclusion: The relationship between WAI and ESS in hospital personnel indicates that the ability to work can be increased by improving sleep status and controlling the factors that lead to daytime sleepiness.