Sleep quality and work among nursing vocational students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Sleep Science
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Student well-being is crucial for academic success and future healthcare professionals.
• The demands of technical nursing courses can impact student sleep quality.
• The influence of work activity on sleep quality among nursing students requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between work activity and sleep quality in technical nursing students.
• To identify factors associated with poor sleep quality in this student population.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 213 nursing students in Paraná.
• Data were collected using demographic questionnaires and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
• Statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential methods to examine sleep quality predictors.

Main Results:

• A high prevalence of poor sleep quality was observed in both working (76.5%) and non-working (75.3%) students.
• Difficulty balancing personal/academic life (adjOR: 3.450) and school-related anxiety (adjOR: 3.236) significantly increased poor sleep chances in working students.
• Health satisfaction was a protective factor against poor sleep quality for all students (adjOR: 0.210-0.215).

Conclusions:

• Working nursing students experience worse sleep quality, primarily linked to anxiety and the challenges of reconciling work with studies.
• Interventions addressing work-life balance and anxiety may improve sleep quality in this demographic.
• Promoting health satisfaction could be a key strategy to enhance sleep quality among nursing students.