2.2. Measures

A questionnaire that included such demographic data as age, gender, occupation, marital status and information related to the departments where the participants worked was prepared by the researchers and delivered to each participant. In terms of age, the participants were classified into four categories, namely 18‐25, 26‐30, 31‐40 and >40 years and, in terms of occupational status, into two categories, doctors and nurses. All participants were also grouped according to the marital status, single or married. Those who were divorced or widowed were included in the single group, because of their having no familial relationships. In addition, the settings where the HSPs worked were classified as “the final diagnosis area (FDA)” and the SPA. The FDA consisted of the professionals working in the QTUs and the ICU for COVID‐19 patients.

In addition to the questionnaire, the participants were also required to complete the Impact of Event Scale‐Revised (IES‐R) and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to evaluate symptoms of PTSD and insomnia. Ranging from 0 to 88, IES‐R is a 22‐item Likert‐type scale that evaluates three symptom clusters of PTSD: eight items on intrusive thoughts, eight items on avoidance behaviours and six items on hyperarousal, each rated on a 5‐point scale, with the following points of distress: normal (0‐8), mild (9‐25), moderate (26‐43) and severe (44‐88). The Turkish version of IES‐R was adapted byCorapcioglu et al for validity and reliability in 2006. 13 The ISI includes seven questions with scores ranging from 0 to 28 and is a reliable, valid and easy‐to‐use scale designed to assess the severity of insomnia; it is used to rate difficulty in falling and remaining asleep, waking up too early, satisfaction from sleep patterns, deterioration in daily functionality, awareness of impaired sleep and stress arising from insomnia. The points obtained from the ISI are scored as normal (0‐7), mild (8‐14), moderate (15‐21) and severe (22‐28). The validity of the Turkish version of the ISI was performed by Boysan et al, and it demonstrates good psychometric features. 14

In our study, these categories were determined in the light of the literature. To detect the symptoms of distress and insomnia, the cutoff values were determined at 26 and 15, and participants with scores higher than the cutoff value were considered symptomatic. 15 , 16