title: Qualitative Experience of Sleep in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury.
abstract: Poor sleep contributes to adverse health outcomes making it important to understand sleep in medically vulnerable populations, including those with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, little attention has been paid to circumstances specific to SCI that may negatively affect sleep, or to consequences of poor sleep in this population. The objective of this study was to examine the experience of sleep among individuals with SCI. Secondary analysis using thematic coding of qualitative data from an ethnographic study of community-dwelling adults with SCI was conducted. Sleep-related data were found in transcripts for 90% of the sample. Participants described diminished sleep duration and irregular sleep patterns. Several factors contributing to poor sleep were identified, including SCI-related circumstances and sleep environment. Participants also discussed how poor sleep affected occupational engagement. This study highlights the extent of sleep disturbance experienced after SCI and the subsequent impact on occupational performance, and provides direction for clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Fogelberg
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Leland
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeanine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Rich
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Florence A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: complications of spinal cord injury; occupational engagement; qualitative research; sleep