ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1595303
This article is part of the Research TopicRedefining Acute Psychiatric Care: Strategies for Improved Inpatient ExperiencesView all 9 articles
The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Sleep Disturbances Among Mental Health Patients Following Hospital Discharge
Provisionally accepted
Vincent I.O. Agyapong1*
Wanying Mao2
Reham Shalaby2
Ernest Owusu2
Hossam Elgendy2
Belinda Agyapong2
Ejemai Eboreime1
Peter H Silverstone2
Pierre Chue2
Xinmin Li2
Wesley Vuong3
Arto Ohinmaa4
Valerie Hannah Taylor5
Andrew J Greenshaw2
Yanbo Zhang2Vincent Agyapong1*- 1Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- 3Clinical Operations Informatics Office, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Canada
- 4School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- 5Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Background: Sleep disturbances significantly impact psychological well-being, particularly during the critical transition when patients are discharged from psychiatric units. Despite extensive research on sleep and mental health, limited attention has been given to this transitional period. Aim: This study examined the prevalence and risk factors of sleep disturbances among patients preparing for discharge from psychiatric units in Alberta, Canada. Methods: This cross-sectional epidemiological study involved face-to-face interviews with eligible patients, followed by an online survey assessing sleep issues using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Additional data on demographics, clinical information, and responses to the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) were also collected. Results: Of the 1,437 patients approached, 1,106 participated. The prevalence of sleep disturbances was 79.6%. Key factors associated with sleep issues included relationship status (Chi2=13.39; p=0.01), primary mental health diagnoses (Chi2=61.35; p< 0.001), anxiety (Chi2=80.28; p<0.001), and poor well-being (Chi2=82.18; p<0.001) at baseline. Conclusion: The study reveals a high prevalence of sleep disturbances among patients preparing for discharge and identifies key risk factors. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to address sleep-related issues during the discharge transition, improving recovery outcomes and reintegration into the community.
Keywords: sleep issues, psychiatry discharge, Mental Health, Prevalence, Risk factors
Received: 17 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Agyapong, Mao, Shalaby, Owusu, Elgendy, Agyapong, Eboreime, Silverstone, Chue, Li, Vuong, Ohinmaa, Taylor, Greenshaw, Zhang and Agyapong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Vincent I.O. Agyapong, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
Vincent Agyapong, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
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