[Sleep disturbances affecting hospital patients].

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe patients' sleep in hospital. The article is based on a study of patients' sleep in a hospital's medical or surgical ward and to clarify the disturbance factors relating to their sleep. The patients of the Central Hospital of Northern Carelia's two medical and two surgical wards took part in the research. The data were collected by a structured questionnaire and a follow-up questionnaire in May-June 1996. Of the replies of 181 patients, the results of 177 were taken to the final analysis. The data were analysed by statistical methods. The data and the results are presented in frequency and percent distributions, and the background variables of those patients sleeping well and those sleeping poorly are analysed and compared. The results indicated that 65% of the researched patients slept badly in the hospital. Environmental factors were found to be related to most of the patients' sleep disturbances: 80% of them regarded those factors as the cause for their disturbed sleep. Other patients, noise, and the nurses' work were regarded as the most disturbing of the environmental factors. The internal factors had disturbed patients' sleep in the hospital less than the environmental factors. Pain was regarded as the most sleep disturbing internal factor: over half of the researched patients felt disturbed by it. During their stay in the hospital the patients experienced more positive (trust, contentment, safety) than negative feelings (fear, anxiety, depression, distrust), and those who experienced negative feelings had more difficulties in sleeping.