Evaluation of Sleep Habits in the Children of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

English (OpenAlex)

Aim: After COVID-19, Social-emotional, psychosomatic, cognitive, and behavioral reactions have begun to be seen in people.Since the pandemic started, the long working hours of healthcare professionals, worsening working conditions, the increase in the expectations and concerns of the society, as well as the risk of getting sick, have caused them and their families to be the most affected segment of the population.This study aimed to evaluate the sleep habits in the children of health workers during the pandemic period and compare them with other children.When the literature was examined, no other study was found that examined the sleep habits of the children of healthcare workers.This increases the importance of our work.Method: Sociodemographic data forms and Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire were filled face-to-face to 138 healthcare professionals working at Düzce University Medical Faculty Hospital.They were compared with the questionnaires of the parents of 138 children matched in terms of number and age.Results: Disruption in sleep habits was detected in 97% of the children of healthcare workers and 62% in the control group.Bedtime resistance, delay in falling asleep, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, night awakening, parasomnias, sleep breathing disorders, and daytime sleepiness subscales were all found to be statistically significantly higher in healthcare worker children(p<0.01). Conclusions:The Covid-19 pandemic, together with the whole people, has negatively affected children and their sleep habits, and the sleep habits of the children of healthcare workers have been impacted significantly more than the control group.