263: Sleep Health of Anaesthesia Personnel: Implications for Perioperative and Pain Care

Topic: Clinical Science
Subtopic: Non-specific to any diagnosis, Psychology, Epidemiology, Pain in Special Populations

Background and Aims: Sleep deprivation among healthcare workers is associated with impaired cognitive performance, reduced vigilance, and an increased risk of medical errors. Anaesthesia personnel are particularly vulnerable due to frequent night shifts, prolonged working hours, and the need for sustained attention in high-acuity clinical settings. Fatigue-related impairment may adversely affect perioperative safety, including the delivery of effective and timely pain management.

Despite growing recognition of clinician wellbeing, data on sleep quality among anaesthesia personnel in Malaysian public hospitals remain limited. Understanding sleep health in this high-risk workforce is essential to inform strategies aimed at improving clinical performance and patient outcomes.

This study aimed to assess sleep quality among anaesthesia personnel using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and to explore its association with demographic and work-related factors, with implications for perioperative and pain care.

Methods: This single-centre cross-sectional study was conducted among anaesthesia personnel at Hospital Selayang, Malaysia. Data were collected using an anonymous, self-administered online questionnaire comprising demographic and work-related variables and the validated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Poor sleep quality was defined as a global score greater than 5.

A universal sampling approach was used, inviting all eligible personnel. Associations between sleep quality and selected variables, including age, gender, designation, years of experience, and frequency of night shifts, were analysed using Fisher’s exact test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 55 anaesthesia personnel were included in the analysis. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 74.5% (n=41).

No statistically significant associations were observed between sleep quality and age, gender, designation, or years of experience (p>0.05). Similarly, no significant association was found with frequency of night shifts.

However, a consistently high burden of poor sleep quality was observed across all subgroups. Participants performing 6–8 night shifts per month demonstrated a higher proportion of poor sleep quality compared to other groups, although this did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions: Poor sleep quality is highly prevalent among anaesthesia personnel, affecting nearly three-quarters of respondents in this high-risk workforce. The consistently elevated burden across all demographic and work-related subgroups suggests that sleep disturbance is a systemic occupational issue, rather than being confined to specific individual factors.

Given the critical role of anaesthesia personnel in perioperative care, fatigue-related impairment may adversely affect clinical vigilance, cognitive performance, and decision-making, with potential consequences for the delivery of safe and effective pain management. These findings highlight the importance of recognising sleep health as a key component of clinician performance and patient safety.

Targeted institution-level strategies, including optimisation of work schedules, fatigue mitigation, and promotion of sleep health awareness, are warranted to support clinician wellbeing and enhance the quality of perioperative and pain care delivery.

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Presenting Author: Leung Yoke Theng
Submitting Author: Yoke Theng Leung

Senior Author: Dr. Norliza Binti Mohd Nor

IASP 2026 Global Year theme of Neuropathic Pain: No

• Dr. Lim Pei Fern: MD, MMed - Hospital Selayang
• Dr. Norliza Binti Mohd Nor: MD, MMed (Anaes) - Hospital Kajang