Abstract
Background: Sleep plays an essential role in the recovery and healing process following illness or injury; however, the hospital environment has a notorious reputation for being non-conducive to sleep. Over the past 50 years, sleep has become a popular topic of study and an abundance of research focuses on sleep for patients in the practice setting, however patient sleep still appears to be of poor priority. Authors agree that sleep deprivation for patients in hospital is an issue of concern, with research focused on the causes and consequences of sleep deprivation, and on interventions and management. There appears, however, to be little research giving weight to the reasons why sleep deprivation for hospitalized patients matters.
Aim: The aim of this integrative review is to evaluate existing literature focused on sleep deprivation in the hospital setting in order to identify the significance of sleep deprivation in hospital.
Methods: An integrative literature review was chosen to allow the researcher the ability to include a varied range of research, to gain a deeper understanding of sleep deprivation. This was undertaken using Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) integrative literature review guide, tools from The Joanna Briggs Institute, and thematic analysis following steps outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006).
Results: A total of 15 articles were included in this literature review and were able to be grouped into five focus topics. From these articles two main themes were identified, the patient and the organisation; and these were underpinned by a number of subthemes.
Conclusion: Sleep deprivation is of great significance to both the patient and the organisation. For the patient, there are severe acute and long-term physiological and psychological effects which may lead to chronic conditions. For the organisation, sleep deprivation has a significant impact on cost, resources, and staff. Whilst the impact of sleep deprivation on the organisation is of huge concern, it is also important to acknowledge that the environment and culture of the organisation plays a significant role in sleep deprivation for patients also. Sleep deprivation in hospital needs to be better prioritized by way of staff education and instigation of hospital policies, management guidelines and assessment tools in order to support patient sleep and minimise the negative outcomes of patient sleep deprivation. Following the initiation of better sleep management, further research on the effects of this would be beneficial to gain a more in depth understanding of how management of sleep deprivation needs to be prioritized.