“Nurse, I Can’t Sleep!”

The Effect of a Supportive Educational Intervention Through Virtual Social Networks on Sleep Quality and Insomnia of Patients with Cancer

Sleep disturbances are very common among cancer patients, and they need more support in this regard. More access to technology has provided opportunities to use virtual teaching methods to educate and support cancer patients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of supportive educational intervention (SEI) through virtual social networks (VSNs) on the sleep quality and the severity of insomnia of cancer patients. The study was conducted on 66 patients with cancer: intervention (n = 33) and control (n = 33) groups (CONSORT). Intervention group received supportive educational intervention on sleep for 2 months through virtual social networks (VSNs). All participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and insomnia severity index (ISI) before and after the intervention. The mean scores of sleep quality (p = .001) and insomnia severity (p = .001) in the intervention group had a statistically significant decrease. Moreover, quality, latency, duration, efficiency, disturbances of sleep, and daytime dysfunction showed significant improvement in the intervention group, every two times after the intervention (p < .05). However, the participants' sleep quality deteriorated progressively in the control group (p = .001). Supportive educational intervention (SEI) through VSNs can be an effective method to improve sleep quality and decrease insomnia severity of patients with cancer.Trial registration number: RCT20220528055007N1Date of registration: 2022-08-31(retrospectively registered).

Staying Awake and Aware: The Importance of Sleep in Psychiatric Nursing Practice

Given that approximately 70 million Americans suffer from sleep-wake disorders and their under-recognized role in practice, psychiatric nurses may see, or may be already seeing, patients with undiagnosed sleep disorders. Assessment of sleep-wake disorders can and should be a part of psychiatric nursing education and practice. Many practicing clinicians lack formal training regarding sleep-wake issues and treatment. Even as sleep disturbances are common concerns among psychiatric populations, sleep-wake issues may go unrecognized. The article presents a stylized progression of care to enable clinicians to identify, address, and treat underlying sleep-wake disorders in psychiatric settings. The article recommends instituting screening procedures for sleep-wake issues and follow-up assessments, particularly overnight pulse oximetry and polysomnograms. Just as clinicians already screen for physical conditions that would affect psychiatric care, practitioners can evaluate patients for potential sleep-wake disorders as part of their existing practice and intake procedures. Further, the piece details implications for psychopharmacology as well as evidence from clinical practice. Psychiatric nurses should stay awake to the importance of sleep medicine and aware of how sleep-wake disorders can affect psychiatric populations.