Healthy Sleep Practices for Consumers of Home Total Parenteral Nutrition: A Mixed-Methods Community-Based...

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Sleep Medicine
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Overnight home parenteral nutrition (HPN) use is associated with significant sleep disruption in consumers.
• Existing general sleep hygiene guidelines are often not applicable to the specific needs and challenges faced by HPN consumers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop tailored, evidence-based recommendations for healthy sleep practices specifically for individuals receiving home parenteral nutrition.
• To address the unique sleep-related issues encountered by HPN consumers through community-based participatory research.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach was employed, including literature synthesis of existing guidelines and expert panel review.
• Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with HPN consumers and clinicians to gather lived experiences and refine recommendations.
• Pre- and post-knowledge tests were administered to assess the impact of the developed recommendations on consumer understanding of sleep health.

Main Results:

• An initial 51 recommendations were evaluated, with 36 finalized into a comprehensive resource covering pre-sleep routines, sleep environment, daytime behaviors, and general strategies.
• 42% of the final recommendations addressed unique HPN consumer challenges, such as nocturnal polyuria, medical equipment noise/light, and infusion schedules.
• Knowledge tests showed a modest increase in sleep health knowledge among participating HPN consumers.

Conclusions:

• A multidisciplinary expert panel, HPN community members, clinicians, and patient advocacy organizations collaborated to create a tailored healthy sleep resource.
• Widespread dissemination of these specialized sleep recommendations has the potential to enhance the overall well-being of the HPN consumer population.