Correlation Between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Sleep Hygiene in Adults Surviving the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes

Abstract

On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes with magnitudes of 7,7 and 7,6 struck the Kahramanmara & scedil; region in Turkey. Over 50.000 people lost their lives and more than half a million buildings were damaged as a result of these earthquakes. Earthquake survivors may develop post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep hygiene problems. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between post-traumatic stress and sleep hygiene among surviving adults six months after the February 6th Kahramanmara & scedil; Earthquakes in Turkey. This study was conducted with 1004 earthquake survivors in 11 provinces influenced by the February 6th Kahramanmara & scedil; earthquakes in Turkey. The data was collected with Personal Information Form, Impact of Events Scale-Revised, and the Sleep Hygiene Index. It has been determined that 54.1% of earthquake survivors scored >= 33 on the Impact of Events Scale-Revised. The level of post-traumatic stress disorder was high and their sleep hygiene index level was above average among earthquake survivors. A strongly significant positive correlation was observed between the Impact of Events Scale-Revised and the Sleep Hygiene Index. It is recommended to plan and implement community-based psychological interventions to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder and improve sleep hygiene among survivors after earthquakes.