Factors Affecting Sleep in Hospitalised Children and Adolescents with Cancer
Ayfer Aydın, Rejin Kebudi, Hülya Dalkılıç Bingöl, Sema Büyükkapu BayObjective: Children and adolescents with cancer may have sleep problems. There are environmental and patient/disease-related factors affecting the sleep of a child with cancer. This study evaluates the factors affecting the sleep of children and adolescents with cancer.
Method: The study was conducted as a descriptive study to determine the factors affecting sleep problems in children and adolescents with cancer. The data was collected using a survey of children and adolescents with cancer and their mothers. The researchers developed the two-part Factors Affecting the Sleep of children and adolescents with Cancer Survey. The sample included 75 children and adolescents with cancer.
Results: Sixty-eight percent of the children stated that sleep was "bad" and six percent as "very bad" in the hospital, whereas 86% of the mothers said that their sleep was "bad/very bad" in the hospital. Hospital environments such as crowded rooms, frequent visits of the nurses for treatment at night, noise and light in the room, and odours in the room were the most reported environmental factors associated with sleep problems in children. Excessive urination, nausea, vomiting, pain, and nightmares were the most reported symptoms disturbing the sleep of the children.
Conclusion: The hospital environment, including noise, light levels, and room interruptions, may disrupt sleep. Nurses and doctors should regularly assess sleep in all children hospitalised in the paediatric oncology ward. The patient's chemotherapy and fluid therapy should be planned according to sleep patterns. Nurses may be able to control some factors that affect sleep duration in hospitalised paediatric patients with cancer