Evaluation of Sleep Quality and Fatigue in Hospitalized Patients

Hospitalization can significantly disrupt sleeping patterns. Insomnia in the hospitalized patient leads to increased fatigue. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare sleep quality and fatigue of the hospitalized patients and match healthy controls. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 150 hospitalized patients (internal clinics=75, surgical clinics=75) and 50 healthy controls constituted the sample. As the data gathering tools, a questionnaire form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue were used. The data was evaluated after transferring to SPSS 11.0 database in percentage, mean, independent group's t-test, one way-ANOVA, LSD post hoc, chi-square, cronbach's alpha coefficient, pearson product-moment correlation. We found worse sleep quality and more fatigue in patients compared to controls. Female patients reported greater sleep disturbances and more severe fatigue than did male patients. It was found that the severity of fatigue was significantly correlated to sleep quality score. These results suggest that sleep quality and fatigue of inpatients is worse than healthy persons; there are significant relationships between sleep quality and fatigue, indicating the need for more individualized supportive nursing care. Patients with hospitalized need professional support from nurse. It is expected that nurses should have the basic knowledge about sleeping problems and fatigue in hospitalized patients when providing care to patients because of possible interactions with other treatments.