Nenningsland TS, Asadi-Azarbaijani B, Alfheim HB, Hansen EH. Parents' perceptions of factors influencing sleep in pediatric intensive care units: A qualitative study.
J Pediatr Nurs 2024:S0882-5963(24)00151-9. [PMID:
38641456 DOI:
10.1016/j.pedn.2024.04.033]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing sleep in pediatric intensive care units as perceived by parents of critically ill children.
DESIGN AND METHODS
This descriptive qualitative study used individual semistructured interviews. Parents were recruited through purposive sampling from two pediatric intensive care units at two locations in one university hospital in Norway. Ten parents were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using a six-phase reflexive thematic analysis.
FINDINGS
The analysis produced 17 subthemes under four main themes: environmental factors in the pediatric intensive care unit disturb children's sleep, children need trust and safety to sleep, nurses' cooperation with parents influences children's sleep, and nurses' structuring of their practices is fundamental to sleep promotion.
CONCLUSION
The parents found that the environment disturbed their children's sleep, and environmental factors were easier to control in single rooms than in multibed rooms. Children slept better when they felt safe and trusted the nurses, and parents desired more cooperation in promoting sleep for their children, which may be an essential and overlooked part of sleep promotion. Nurses varied considerably in how they prioritized sleep and structured their practices to promote sleep.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
Nurses should take parents' experiences into account to better promote sleep for patients. By limiting environmental disturbances, building relationships with children to make them feel safe, including parents in sleep promotion, and prioritizing sleep in their practices, nurses could improve sleep quality and limit the consequences of sleep disturbance.
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