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Sleep quality in patients with chronic illness
Mary Kemple1, Sinead O'Toole2, Conor O'Toole3
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. mary.kemple@ucd.ie.
Journal of Clinical Nursing
|July 6, 2016
Summary
Patients with chronic illness often struggle with poor sleep quality, impacting their lives significantly. This study highlights the need for healthcare professionals to recognize and address sleep disturbances in chronic disease management.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Primary Care Research
- Qualitative Health Research
Background:
- Chronic illness prevalence is increasing globally.
- Poor sleep quality is a common, under-researched issue in chronic illness.
- This study explores patient experiences of poor sleep in primary care settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore sleep quality in patients with chronic illness.
- To understand patients' daily struggles with poor sleep.
- To investigate coping mechanisms for sleep disturbances.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative research approach.
- Semi-structured interviews with nine purposively selected primary care patients.
- Interpretative analysis of interview data.
Main Results:
- Four recurrent themes emerged, categorized into 'something was wrong' (abrupt onset, life impact) and 'nothing was wrong' (self-minimization, continuation).
- Patients often normalized or accepted poor sleep as an enduring aspect of their chronic condition.
- Poor sleep quality was found to have a profound effect on patients' overall quality of life.
Conclusions:
- Chronically disturbed sleep can exacerbate the disease burden in patients with chronic illness.
- Healthcare professionals must understand the impact of sleep quality on the patient experience.
- Nurses are well-positioned to assess sleep quality and implement interventions to improve patient outcomes.
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