The Effect of Sleep Health Education Based on Telephone Follow-up (Tele-nursing) on Sleep Quality Improvement in Postmenopausal Elderly Women

Abstract

Background and Objective: Poor sleep is one of the most common problems in old age and menopause. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tele-nursing-based sleep health education on sleep quality in postmenopausal elderly women. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 70 elderly people over 60 years of age who referred to urban community health centers of Gonabad City, Iran, and met the inclusion criteria were selected through a systematic sampling and were equally assigned into control and intervention groups. Participants completed a questionnaire that included the demographic questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). After completing the pre-test in the intervention group, the sleep health education program was conducted as a face-to-face training session and a telephone follow-up during two months (12 follow-ups). The control group received routine health care. Post-test was performed in both groups after 2 months. Results: We did not find any significant difference between two groups at bassline variables. Besides, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean score of sleep quality before intervention in the experimental and control groups (P = 0.127), the mean score of sleep quality after the intervention showed a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The sleep health education program based on telephone follow-up can improve the sleep quality of postmenopausal elderly women. Therefore, teaching this non-pharmacological approach to health care workers, staff of community health centers, and caregivers is recommended to improve the sleep quality of postmenopausal elderly women.