Psychological health of UK National Health Service (NHS) frontline doctors has been unequivocally impacted by the CoVID-19 pandemic. Previous research identifies heightened levels of sleep disturbance and CoVID-related trauma in this population. This study aimed to explore frontline doctors’ experiences of sleep disturbances, and their understanding of how sleep disturbances have both affected and been affected by Covid-related experiences. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with UK frontline doctors specialising in Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, or Intensive Care (n = 10), purposively sampled to explore worry-related sleep disturbances in the context of trauma-related symptomology. Reflexive thematic analysis generated five themes: (1) ‘Sleep changes across the pandemic timeline’: pre-, peri-, and post- pandemic sleep; (2) ‘A time to work, and a time to rest’: prioritisation of work over sleep; (3) ‘Fight now, process later’: hyperarousal impedes sleep, (4) ‘Frontline doctors are humans too’: reflections on attitude shifts, resource availability, and timing of interventions, and (5) ‘Benefits and burdens of knowledge’: managing cognitive dissonance and possibility of occupational errors. Disparity between adequate resource and the needs of frontline doctors for sleep health improvement is highlighted. Ongoing need to address the continuing impact of CoVID-related experiences on frontline doctors’ well-being is demonstrated.
| Date of Award | 22 Sept 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | |
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| Supervisor | Jo Daniels (Supervisor) & Rachel Paskell (Supervisor) |
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Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio: : 1) Current Recommendations for the Role of Psychology in Adult Medical Conditions within NICE Clinical Guidelines: A Systematic Review; 2) Veterans of the armed forces: a service evaluation considering access and care outcomes within an NHS regional Community Mental Health Team (CMHT); 3) Sleep Health in Frontline Trauma (SHiFT): A reflexive thematic analysis to explore worry-related sleep disturbances in frontline doctors with trauma-related symptoms during the CoVID-19 pandemic.
Peters, C. (Author). 22 Sept 2023
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy)