title: Sleep promotion in the intensive care unit-a survey of nurses' interventions.
abstract: Sleep deprivation is common amongst patients in intensive care units (ICU) and can lead to physiological and psychological dysfunctions that affect the healing process and increase morbidity and mortality. A focus on the effects of the ICU environment on patient sleep quality has lead to strategies for improvements in patient care. The aim of this small-scale study was to investigate the perceptions of the sleep-promoting interventions that ICU nurses believe they provide. A review of the literature identified four main approaches, i.e., noise reduction, light reduction, patient comfort improvement and clustering of patient care activities, to allow uninterrupted time for adequate sleep. A questionnaire was created to collect information on the nurses' interventions to promote night- and daytime patient sleep in accordance with the literature findings. A total of 25 ICU nurses working in an ICU with medical and surgical patients at the University Hospital of Northern Norway completed the e-mail-administered web-based questionnaire. The ICU nurses reported an overall interest and awareness in sleep-promoting interventions utilising all four approaches, but the challenge of caring for critically ill patients with demands of frequent assessment and nursing may influence which interventions are prioritised.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Division of Cardiothoracic and Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway. kirsten.marie.eliassen@unn.no
authors.forename: Kirsten M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Eliassen
authors.forename: Laila A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hopstock
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008029:Lighting; D009622:Noise; D009732:Nursing Care; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000451:nursing*