How do clinicians assess, communicate about, and manage patient sleep in the hospital?

The objective of this study was to characterize how clinicians assess, communicate about, and manage patient sleep, with the focus on identifying existing barriers and facilitators to sleep promotion in clinical practice.

Sleep is a critical need for improving for hospitalized patients.

Content analysis was used to interpret descriptive data from 4 group interviews with a total of 62 clinicians.

Clinicians reported they did not formally assess for patient sleep, which led to largely unmanaged sleep disruption during hospitalization. Major barriers to effective sleep management were limited understanding of the importance of sleep, lack of a standardized tool for assessment, and inadequate communication. Facilitators included collaborative communication with patients and the healthcare team and customized patient-centered interventions.

It is critical to inform clinicians on the importance of sleep, to standardize sleep assessment, and to facilitate collaboration among caregivers to promote sleep for hospitalized patients.