title: Improving sleep for patients in acute hospitals.
abstract: Sleep is important to health and recovery from illness, but is known to be difficult in hospital. This article describes a quality improvement project conducted on 18 wards in acute hospitals. Patients reported sleeping an average of five hours per night, and 47% (352/749) rated their sleep quality as good or excellent in hospital. Individualised ward action plans were implemented. At follow up, disturbance by noise and light had fallen significantly and 69% (540/783) of patients rated their sleep as good or excellent, 22% more than before the intervention (P<0.001). Local interventions such as improving staff awareness of noise, installing window blinds and turning down equipment alarms improved the patient experience of sleep.
authors.affiliation: King's College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, England.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Norton
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flood
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brittin
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miles
mesh_terms: D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Circadian rhythm; lighting; noise; patient experience; sleep