Nursing Home Eligible, Community-Dwelling Older Adults’ Perceptions and Beliefs About Sleep: A Mixed-Methods Study

Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in older adults; little is known about sleep in those who remain living in the community despite qualifying for nursing home placement. We conducted a concurrent, nested, mixed-methods study to describe sleep characteristics and sleep disturbances in this population. Our final sample (n = 40) was Black (100%), female (85%) older adults with a mean (±SD) age of 72 ± 9.5 years. Of these, 35 had objectively measured short or long sleep duration, and 30 had subjectively reported poor sleep quality. Our evidence suggests that sleep disturbances are common in this group, and these older adults had adjusted their expectations and adapted to their sleep disturbances. Given that at-risk older adults may not perceive their sleep disturbances as problematic, clinicians must proactively assess sleep and educate about the importance of sleep. These results reveal modifiable factors with potential to improve health outcomes in this vulnerable population.