8292662 Psychosocial factors at work and severe sleep disorders among healthcare workers in northeastern Brazil

<h3>Objective</h3> To investigate the association between psychosocial factors at work and severe sleep disorders among public healthcare workers in Bahia, northeastern Brazil. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> Cross-sectional study with a representative sample of public health employees who worked in the primary and secondary care in three municipalities in Bahia, northeastern Brazil, in 2021. Sleep disorders were measured by the Mini Sleep Questionnaire (MSQ) (cutoff score for severe sleep disorder was 31). Effort-reward imbalance (ERI), workplace bullying and victimization were assessed using the ERI Scale, the self-labelled method for bullying, and validated questions about victimization. A structured questionnaire and other validated instruments were used to assess sociodemographic and other occupational factors. Logistic regression was used to estimate prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). <h3>Results</h3> 1047 workers participated in the study. The prevalence of sleep problems was 42,1%. Healthcare workers exposed to high effort-reward imbalance, verbal/physical aggression and workplace bullying had 2.58 (95% CI: 1.90-3.50), 1.66 (95% CI: 1.15-2.38) and 1.26 (95% CI: 0.83-1.92) higher odds of severe sleep disorders, compared to those non-exposed, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, high ERI maintained the association with severe sleep disorders (POR: 2.10 (95% CI: 1.50-2.94)). In the multiple models, workplace bullying and victimization were not associated with sleep disorders. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The high prevalence of severe sleep disorders in healthcare emplyees reveals a worrying situation for the Brazilian public health system, which can affect other aspects of workers health and also the quality of public health services. The results highlight the role of the work organisation for the occurrence of sleep disorders in public health employees. Interventions to prevent sleep problems and other associated chronic diseases must focus on the work organisation and managerial policies.