The relationship between the quality of work life and sleep in nurses at the intensive care units of teaching hospitals in Mazandaran, Iran

Background and Purpose: Stress has adverse effects on the quality of sleep and professional life in nurses engaged in intensive care units (ICUs). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the qualities of work life and sleep in nurses employed in the ICUs of Mazandaran province in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 180 nurses employed in the ICUs of teaching hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2015. Participants were selected via stratified random sampling. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire, Walton’s Quality of Work Life (QWL), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.18 using descriptive and inferential statistics (independent T-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation-coefficient, and logistic regression analysis). Results: In this study, ICU nurses were dissatisfied with most of the dimensions associated with the quality of work life. Moreover, 49 participants (27.2%) had poor quality of work life, while 119 (66.1%) and 12 cases (6.7%) had moderate and high quality of work life, respectively. Also, 69 (38%) and 111 nurses (61.7%) were reported to have good and unfavorable sleep quality, respectively. A significant, inverse, linear correlation was observed between the quality of work life and sleep quality (P=0.012). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, quality of work life and sleep quality were moderate and unfavorable in the majority of ICU nurses, respectively. Moreover, sleep quality had a significant correlation with the quality of work life.