The Relationships Between Sleep, Social Isolation, and Health Care Access to Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress, Number of Medical Diagnoses, and Medication Use Among Long-Haul Truck Drivers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Long-haul truck drivers experience many challenges while working "on the road." These challenges include, but are not limited to, problems with sleep, access to health care, and loneliness. It is also known that they have tend to have a number of chronic medical conditions, including mental health diagnoses.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore how sleep, loneliness, and health care access are related to depression, post-traumatic stress, number of medical diagnoses, and medication use among long-haul truck drivers.

METHODS

A total of 98 participants were recruited to the study by way of Facebook-based and trucking industry-specific websites. Potential participants reviewed an online study information sheet and clicked forward to the survey, indicating their consent to participate. At that point, participants engaged with a 60-item online Qualtrics survey containing items related to the variables of interest and demographics.

RESULTS

Participants were primarily married or partnered white males aged 54 years old. They experienced poor sleep, moderate loneliness and depression, and probable post-traumatic stress. The final model showed that while all the independent variables, except the number of medications prescribed, predicted the dependent variables, sleep quality significantly influences mental health in this sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Ongoing education of providers, truck drivers, and their employers on the significance of sleep on mental health is essential. Addressing loneliness, using multiple modalities, should be considered. Finally, the importance of mental health and social connections should be stressed by all providers who encounter truck drivers to support their well-being.