Dados do Trabalho

Título

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN WORKING CONDITIONS AND SLEEP QUALITY IN CORRECTION OFFICERS

Introdução

Correctional officers (CO) are exposed to singular occupational factors in the performance of their functions, which can alter the different components of sleep quality.

Objetivo

This study aims to evaluate the association between working conditions and different components of sleep quality in CO.

Métodos

Cross-sectional study with CO from four prisons in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The dependent variable was sleep quality factors (SQF) of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, obtained through factor analysis (FA), software R. The association between poor quality in the SQF and occupational variables was assessed using linear regression adjusted for confounding factors (age, sex, race, cohabitation, schooling, income and chronotype), in SPSS, to obtain odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Resultados

Of the 591 CO registered in the penitentiaries under study, 280 (47.3%) CO participated in the study. The values of model-fit indicate an acceptable model in confirmatory FA, with three factors: F1 (sleep quality, sleep latency and use of sleep medications), F2 (sleep duration and habitual sleep efficiency), and F3 (sleep disturbance and daytime dysfunction). Suffering physical violence was associated with worse F3 (OR 3.24; IC 1.28-8.22). Working in day shift (12 hours), compared to a day laborer (8 hours), was associated with worse F1 (OR 2.06; IC 1.07-3.97) and F2 (OR 4.05; IC 1.98-8.28). Night shift work was not associated with any SQF. Variables that may indicate greater mental workload were associated with worse F3 (greater mental demand [OR 2.84; IC 1.49-5.43], suffer psychological violence [OR 5.79; IC 3.19-10.50] and continuously think about work [OR 1.85; IC 1.11-3.11]) and F1 (suffer psychological violence [OR 2.22; IC 1.29-3.81] and continuously think about work [OR 1.82; IC 1.08-3.07]). Thinking about leaving the profession had higher chances of worse quality in F1, F2 and F3, with OR 2.36 (IC 1.33-4.19), OR 1.89 (IC 1.07-3.37) and OR 3.33 (IC 1.83-6.05), respectively.

Conclusões

The evaluation of the SQF allowed us to identify how the different occupational conditions affect the sleep quality of CO. Mental overload seems to disturb sleep induction and cause sleep problems. Working in day shifts of 12 hours was worse for sleep quality than working during night shifts. Thinking about leaving the profession has affected all components of sleep quality.

Palavras-chave

Sleep; Prison system; Work; Correction Officers.