Intensivsykepleierens vurdering og tilrettelegging av søvn : en kvalitativ studie om intensivsykepleierens erfaring med vurdering og tilrettelegging av intensivpasientens søvn, og hvordan søvnen kan innvirke på sykdomsforløpet

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have showed that lack of sleep makes ICU patients stressed. In addition, other studies have showed that the ICU nurses’ subjective assessment of ICU patients’ sleep have low correspondence with objective data, like polysomnography. This shows the need for further studies related to the assessment and facilitation of sleep that the ICU nurses are doing. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the ICU nurse’s experience of assessment and facilitation of the ICU patient’s sleep, and how sleep can affect the course of the disease. Method: The study has a qualitative approach and in-depth interviews were carried out with seven ICU nurses at two different Intensive Care Units. The inclusion criteria for participation in the study were; to have worked as an ICU nurse on an Intensive Care Unit for a minimum of three years and to have worked a threefold rotation. Graneheim and Lundman’s manifest and latent content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: In the analysis, four different categories appeared; Clinical assessments, The environment’s impact on sleep, Planning of day and night routines and Consequences of sleep quality. The overall theme was; The ICU nurses’ ability to assess and facilitate the patient’s sleep affects the patient’s course of disease. Conclusion: To improve assessment and facilitation of the patient’s sleep the ICU nurses must have an increased awareness and knowledge about the physiology of sleep and how the sleep affects the course of disease. Keywords: Assessment, ICU, nursing, qualitative design, sleep, sleep deprivation, sleep quality