Study on fatigue, sleep quality and PTSD symptoms and influencing factors among prevention and control workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, prevention and control workers have been exposed to heavy workloads at high risk of infection, which has led to mental health issues such as anxiety, insomnia, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 346 prevention and control workers covering 46 cities in 14 provinces in China from February to March 2020. Non-probabilistic convenience sampling and snowball sampling were used to collect data, including data on fatigue, sleep quality and PTSD symptoms. Descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, Mann‒Whitney U tests, Kruskal‒Wallis H tests, ordered logistic regression and binary logistic regression analysis were employed. The fatigued state of prevention and control workers was mild, and most of them experienced decreased sleep quality. There was a statistically significant difference in PTSD levels between workers who had direct contact with COVID-19 patients and those who did not (P < 0.001). The PTSD scores of workers with different degrees of fatigue and sleep quality significantly differed from those before the epidemic (all P < 0.001). Moreover, workers in direct contact with COVID-19 patients had fewer PTSD symptoms (P = 0.002). Workers with more severe fatigue had more PTSD symptoms than before the epidemic. On the other hand, workers with poor sleep quality had more PTSD symptoms than before the epidemic did (all P < 0.001). Considering decreased sleep quality and high PTSD scores, it is necessary to arrange working hours rationally and conduct professional psychological counselling to ensure the physical and mental health of prevention and control workers.