title: Differences in sleep disturbance parameters between oncology outpatients and their family caregivers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared the occurrence rates for and severity ratings of sleep disturbance in patient-family caregiver (FC) dyads.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 102 dyads were recruited from two radiation therapy (RT) departments. Patients and their FCs completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the General Sleep Disturbance Scale (GSDS) and wore wrist actigraphs to obtain subjective and objective measures of the occurrence and severity of sleep disturbance at the initiation of RT. Match paired t tests were used to evaluate for dyadic differences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences were found in the occurrence of clinically significant levels of sleep disturbance between patients and their FCs that ranged between 40% and 50% using subjective and objective measures. Few differences were found in the severity of any of the sleep-wake parameters between patients and FCs using both the subjective and objective measures of sleep disturbance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this study suggest that patients with cancer and their FCs experience similar levels of sleep disturbance and that both groups could benefit from interventions that aim to promote restful sleep. In addition to routine and systematic assessment of sleep disturbance by oncology clinicians, interventions are needed that take into account the specific needs of the patient and the FC as well as the potential for partners' sleep patterns to influence one another.
authors.affiliation: Schools of Nursing and Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carney
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koetters
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: Bradley E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Aouizerat
authors.forename: Marylin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dodd
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wara
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Swift
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miaskowski
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002140:California; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012890:Sleep; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires