Sleep, housing conditions and quality of life in slums

GUIDO SIMONELLI; M HYLAND; SANTIAGO PÉREZ LLORET; A VALLIERES; DANIEL P. CARDINALI; DANIEL E. VIGO; DANIEL PÉREZ CHADA

Congreso; 26 th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies; 2012

Introduction : Urban poverty is estimated to affect approximately one third of all urban residents in the developing world. Slums are settlements of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic. According to the United Nations, one billion people live in slums and little is known about their sleep. This study intends to explore sleep quality, quality of life and housing conditions in slum dwellers. Methods : A total of 150 (Men=39%, Mean age=30, BMI=26) slum dwellers, from different slums located in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, were interviewed using the Pittsburgh Sleep quality Index (PSQI) and WHO quality of life brief scale. Data on housing conditions, income, education, sleeping conditions, and cardiovascular risk was also collected. Results : Results showed 76.7% (SE=0.03) of participants reported a PSQI score above 5. The PSQI mean was 8.34 (SE=0.29). At the same time, 63% (SE=0.03) rated their quality of life as “poor” and 78% (SE=0.03) were dissatisfied with housing conditions. When asked about sleeping conditions, 74% (SE=0.03)reported sharing the bed with an extra person besides their partner, and 35.3% (SE=0.03) reported sharing the bed with more than one person besides their partner. In terms of major problems associated with sleeping conditions in the house, 73.3 (SE=0.03) answered dampness, 70% (ES=0.03) rain and 57.3% (SE=0.04) wind or roof problems. Conclusion: The mean PSQI of our sample is associated with poor sleep quality. This finding, coupled with poor housing conditions and dissatisfaction with housing conditions reported by approximately 80% of the participants, reinforces the idea of an existent “sleep disparity” in society. A better understanding of sleep conditions in extremely low-income populations of developing countries may help families find targeted low cost housing interventions, which will reduce sleep inequity while improve quality of life.