A comparative study of sleep disorder, sexual satisfaction and fear of COVID-19 in nurses working in COVID and non-COVID wards at Tehran Hospitals

Considering the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of first-line treatment staff, especially nurses, we aimed to compare fear of COVID-19, sleep disorders and sexual satisfaction of nurses working in COVID wards with nurses in non-hospitalized wards of these patients.

In this comparative study, Pittsburgh sleep disorders, Larson sexual satisfaction and Covid-19 fear questionnaires were completed by 160 nurses working in six hospitals in Tehran (80 nurses in Covid-19 and 80 nurses in non-Covid-19 wards). Data were analyzed by SPSS v. 25 software using Chi-square, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test and regression analyses. Ethics in research and confidentiality of information have been observed in this study.

Among nurses working in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards, 83.8% and 76.3% had sleep disorders, respectively. Out of a total of 79 married participants in the control and case groups, 88.1% and 94.6% reported high sexual satisfaction, respectively. The mean fear score of COVID-19 in the two groups of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 nurses was 20.01 ± 5.91 and 19.55 ± 6.29, respectively. There was no significant difference between the mean scores of sleep disorder, sexual satisfaction and fear of COVID-19 in the two groups (p > 0.05).

The lack of significant differences between nurses working in COVID wards and nurses working in non- COVID wards shows that both groups of nurses are at high risk of sleep disorders and fear of COVID-19. Based on these findings, timely intervention is necessary to promote the nurses’ mental health and prevent their dysfunction during the pandemic.