Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression and clinical factors associated among night shift healthcare workers.
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Chaudhary Muhammad Akram Hospital, Lahore, from April 2024 to June 2024. The night shift healthcare workers were selected by convenience sampling. Those night shift workers who already suffered from depression or some other psychiatric illnesses were excluded. We administered the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).
Results: Out of 191 health care workers, 41 (21.47%) got a score of 0-4 and did not meet the diagnostic criteria of depression. Of the remaining, 124 (64.92%) got a score of 5-14 and had mild major depressive disorder, 15 (7.85%) had moderate major depressive disorder scoring (15-19), while 11 (5.76%) participants had severe major depressive disorder (score of 20 or higher). Among the nine questions of PHQ-9, eating patterns, loss of interest in hobbies, sleep patterns, and low mood were the most reported in subjects with moderate and severe depression.
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression in our study cohort was higher than that reported in the public and healthcare workers. More studies are needed to further investigate this high-risk cohort of healthcare workers.

Key words: Depression, night shift workers, healthcare workers, PHQ-9, major depressive disorder.