Relationship between sleep quality and post-traumatic stress disorder in family caregivers of traumatic patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU)

Abstract

Introduction: The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between sleep quality and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in family caregivers of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted on immediate family members of patients admitted to the ICU. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire and PCL-C questionnaire were the instruments for measuring post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep quality, respectively. The PTSD questionnaire was completed by the caregivers after the patient's admission. The sleep quality questionnaire was filled out by the caregivers after the admission and one month later. For statistical analysis, correlation analysis and paired t-tests were used with a significance level of 0.05. Results: The total number of participants in this study was 120 people (66 men and 54 women). The mean score of post-traumatic stress disorder was 67.8 ± 5, indicating a high level of stress among the participants. The score of sleep quality at the time of hospitalization in the participants was 3.9±1.8 (acceptable sleep quality) and after 1 month it was 9.3±2.5 (impaired sleep quality), which had significantly worsened (P<0.001). However, there was no significant relationship between sleep quality and post-traumatic stress disorder (P<0.05). Conclusions: Post-traumatic stress disorder of family caregivers was recorded at a concerning level, which could have destructive effects on physical and mental health. Also, the sleep quality of the caregivers was strongly influenced by the admission of patients to the ICU, and psychiatric interventions are inevitable for family caregivers.