Frecuencia de la somnolencia diurna y calidad del sueño en médicos generales en funciones hospitalarias de área de emergencia. Hospital de Especialidades José Carrasco Arteaga. 2024

Abstract

Introduction: General practitioners in the emergency department are a professional group subjected to intense stress due to long working hours, including night shifts and frequent sleep interruptions. Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness are key factors influencing quality of life and health.

Methodology: This research was observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive. The study population consisted of 43 general practitioners from the emergency department of the “José Carrasco Arteaga” Hospital. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale were the questionnaires used for evaluation.

Results: The study found that 93% of the physicians were between 25 and 40 years old, and 53.5% were female. The majority showed a high probability of falling asleep in low-activity situations, evidencing a frequency of daytime sleepiness in 34.9% of the participants. Poor sleep quality was reported by 95.3%, with an average of 5 to 6 hours of sleep and high sleep efficiency (>85%). Variables that demonstrated a significant association were marital status with daytime sleepiness and age with sleep quality.

Conclusions: Sleep is considered a biological need that physicians do not adequately meet. Although poor sleep quality was highly prevalent, daytime sleepiness was infrequent among most emergency department general practitioners, which may be attributed to the sample size.