Article Summary and Overview
The article written by Hassinger, Breuer, and Mishra has focused on one broad aspect of US healthcare workers during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection for this cross-sectional study took place during May and June of 2020, which was a time of immense uncertainty about the pandemic. Two hundred-seven healthcare workers participated in this research, and they were informed about their sleep patterns. The study has not merely focused on sleep patterns, but it also considered the personal and professional lives of respondents. Within the broad aspect of sleep patterns, it explained the impact on various sleep dimensions like regularity, timing, duration, daytime sleepiness, and quality (Hassinger, Breuer, & Mishra, 2022). The research has collected data from HCWs working in 17 different healthcare roles that make their context diverse and well-represented. The study addressed different dimensions and aspects of sleeping that helped to find the impact of each element one by one. In the end, it was discovered that 68 percent of respondents faced worsening in at least one aspect of sleep. The majority of respondents could not have a specific time for their sleep, and sleeping hours were reduced for them. For this purpose, they had to complete their sleeping hours in the daytime.
Critique Based on Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the biggest strengths of this article is its comprehensiveness. It has taken the case of sleep patterns, but it has not confined it to a single aspect. Instead, it brings different dimensions of sleep that help it focus on each one. Time and quality dimensions of sleep worsened the most at the beginning of the pandemic. It is a cross-sectional study that has collected data from a convenience sample. A longitudinal study could have been more effective in noting the nature of sleep dimensions after a certain period. However, a comparison of good sleepers and bad sleepers helped to know the most affected HCW by the pandemic. The sample of two hundred and seven participants from 17 different healthcare roles was well represented. Collected data from participants was also well represented, including demographic data and information about professional and household responsibilities. It implies that the research could be used to identify work-life balance during a time of crisis.
A significant weakness of this study is the lack of objective sleep measures to know about sleep patterns. At the same time, it is a strong point that this weakness has been mentioned in the limitations of this article. Overall, the article is well-researched and comprehensive by including different aspects of sleep patterns.
Discussion Post
The article focuses on sleep patterns while considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleeping is an inevitable part of one's daily routine, and various dimensions contribute to its strength and health. Professional responsibilities affect personal life and sleep patterns extensively. These responsibilities get more severe over time, as happened during the pandemic. It was painful and more severe during the early months of the pandemic, and healthcare workers were the most affected professional group due to it. It is worth exploring how sleep patterns affected the segment during the pandemic, and it is also worth investigating the difference for those who already had poor sleep before the pandemic. This article has covered these functional sleep dimensions effectively. However, researchers and students should take sleep patterns as a measure to know the impact of professional responsibilities on personal life patterns.
Reference
Hassinger, A. B., Breuer, R. K., & Mishra, A. (2022). Sleep patterns of US healthcare workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleep and Breathing, 1-11. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02515-9
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