Research Article
Nadia Mohamed Taha, Zeinab
Abstract
Sleep disturbances are extremely common among dialysis patients. Subjective sleep complaints are reported in up to 80% of patients. This study was assess the effectiveness of nursing intervention guidelines in improving sleep pattern and quality in ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis in morning and afternoon shift. A controlled quasi-experimental design with pre-post-follow-up assessment was used in this study. All patients (60) undergoing hemodialysis were age 18-75 years, either in the morning (6:30 to 10:30 AM) or afternoon (3:30 to 7:30 PM) sessions, for at least three months. The study was conducted at the Nephrology Hemodialysis Units at the Zagazig University Hospital. The researchers developed an interview questionnaire to collect data regarding patient's socio-demographic characteristics, physical health problems, psychosocial factors, feeling and biochemical factors, in addition to Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Nursing intervention guidelines based on identified factors affecting sleep disorders can improve the sleep pattern and quality of the patients with ESRD on hemodialysis through acting on their physical, psychosocial factors and patient feelings. However, it seems to be more effective among patients having morning dialysis sessions compared with afternoon ones. Therefore, it is essential that the nurses identify the factors that may adversely affect the quality of sleep of these patients and develop strategies to reduce their sleep disorders. The findings should be further confirmed through randomized clinical trials to avoid the limitations of confounding factors. The effect of biochemical parameters on sleep quality and pattern needs further investigation.