The impact of COVID-19 infection on the quality of life of healthcare workers

Abstract

Objectives COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the entire world and one of its impacts was the increased level of stress and anxiety, especially among healthcare workers. Therefore, this study aims at evaluating the quality of life (QoL) and sleep quality of healthcare workers in Iraq. Methods This study assessed the QoL and sleep quality by using World Health Organization Quality of Life Instruments (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), respectively. The questionnaires were administered through an online cross-sectional survey targeted at workers in medical fields in Iraq from 1st to 20th of August 2021. Key findings Three hundred healthcare workers participated, and females constituted 75.3%. The two questionnaires had very good internal consistency. The highest scoring domain was social relationships, followed by physical health. A significant difference was found in the mean scores of psychological health domain between males and females, with higher scores observed in males. The mean of the total ISI score was 11.58 ± 6.88 with a range between 0 and 27. Severe insomnia was observed in only 9.7% of the participants. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.118) was found between age and ISI scores of the participants. Significant differences were found between males and females with higher ISI mean scores observed among males. Conclusions The QoL and sleep pattern can be affected by COVID-19 infection with the psychological aspect of QoL being the most affected and some degrees of insomnia being observed in many participants.