“Like Walking in a Fog”—Parents' perceptions of sleep and consequences of sleep loss when staying overnight with their child in hospital

Abstract

Summary Disruption of parental sleep in hospital, with frequent awakenings and poor sleep quality, limits the parents' resources to meet the child's needs and maintain parental wellbeing. The aim of the study was to explore and describe how parents perceive their sleep when staying overnight with their sick child in hospital. A further aim was to explore and describe parents’ perception of what circumstances influence their sleep in the hospital. Twenty‐two parents who were accommodated with their sick child (0–17 years) in paediatric wards in Norway and Sweden participated. Interviews were conducted during the hospital stay to elicit their perspectives. Phenomenography was used to analyse data. Two descriptive categories were found: (a) “Perceptions of sleep”, with two sub‐categories: “Sleep in the paediatric ward” and “Consequences of sleep loss”; and (b) “Circumstances influencing sleep in the paediatric ward” with three sub‐categories: “The importance of the family”, “Information and routines at the paediatric ward”, and “Accommodation facilities”. Parents’ sleep and needs must be acknowledged in paediatric wards. An individual plan of care for the upcoming night could be a valuable tool for both the parents and nurses. The child's medical needs must be met with respect to the parents’ willingness to take part in the child's care during the night, and the need for rest and sleep for both parent and child.

Fathers’ experiences of feeding their extremely preterm infants in family-centred neonatal intensive care: a qualitative study

“…The combination of being on an emotional “roller-coaster” and feeding an infant several times during the night increases the risk of sleep loss and exhaustion [ 30 ]. Consequences of sleep loss have previously been described among parents of sick children in terms of cognitive issues such as difficulty in the ability to concentrate, solving problems, and comprehending information [ 30 , 31 ]. Sleep loss and exhaustion are also potential stressors that can reduce the possibility of breastfeeding [ 32 ].…”

Hospital Environmental Disruptors and Caregiver Sleep During Hospitalization

“…In line with our results, these studies reported that sleep surface discomfort can cause sleep disruption and neck and back injuries. 18,47 Apart from discomfort, the second most disruptive factor for caregivers in our study was patient behavior. This finding agrees with the previous literature in adult community-dwelling caregivers, which has found patients' behavioral symptoms to be an important disruptive factor for caregivers' sleep.…”

Parental sleep when their child is sick: A phased principle‐based concept analysis

“…Biologically, cardiovascular disease (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019; Cheezum et al, 2013; Johnson et al, 2018; Ramirez et al, 2019), hypertension (Johnson et al, 2018; Nassery & Landgren, 2018), respiratory (Cheezum et al, 2013), type 2 diabetes (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019; Cheezum et al, 2013; Nassery & Landgren, 2018), obesity (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019; Cheezum et al, 2013; Feeley et al, 2019; Nassery & Landgren, 2018; Ramirez et al, 2019) were highlighted as potential risks from sleep loss. Psychologically, sleep loss was linked to mood (Angelhoff et al, 2015; Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019), anxiety (Al Maghaireh et al, 2017; Cadart et al, 2018), depression (Al Maghaireh et al, 2017; Cadart et al, 2018; Filiz et al, 2020; Liu et al, 2021; Meltzer & Pugliese, 2017), fatigue (Meltzer & Mindell, 2006), concentration (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019; Angelhoff et al, 2017, 2020; Gallagher et al, 2009), memory (Mcbean & Schlosnagle, 2016) or impaired cognitive function (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019), stress (Angelhoff et al, 2015; Bevan et al, 2019; Feeley et al, 2021), lack of self‐care (Stremler et al, 2011), exhaustion (Ramirez et al, 2019), and daytime function such as difficulties to remain awake and/or maintaining enthusiasm with tasks (Herbert et al, 2014; Wright, 2010). In particular, decision‐making on the child's care was noted to be impacted by a lack of sleep (Heaton et al, 2006; Herbert et al, 2014; Johnson et al, 2018; McLoone et al, 2013).…”

“…Many studies used qualitative approaches to explore the concept. Interviews with parents regarding their sleep experiences were conducted (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019 ; Angelhoff et al, 2015 , 2020 ; Edell‐Gustafsson et al, 2014 ; Nassery & Landgren, 2018 ; Neu et al, 2014 ; Stickland et al, 2016 ), and less common in combination with diaries and photos (Heaton et al, 2006 ), and questionnaires (Cheezum et al, 2013 ). Open questions in the form of a qualitative questionnaire format varied from being used solely (Feeley et al, 2019 ; Stremler et al, 2011 ), including closed questions (Wright, 2010 ; Wright et al, 2006 ), and alongside actigraphy (Franck et al, 2014 ) and other questionnaires (McCann, 2008 ; Zupanec et al, 2010 ).…”

“…Psychologically, sleep loss was linked to mood (Angelhoff et al, 2015;Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019), anxiety (Al Maghaireh et al, 2017Cadart et al, 2018), depression (Al Maghaireh et al, 2017Cadart et al, 2018;Filiz et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2021;Meltzer & Pugliese, 2017), fatigue (Meltzer & Mindell, 2006), concentration (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019;Angelhoff et al, 2017Angelhoff et al, , 2020Gallagher et al, 2009), memory (Mcbean & Schlosnagle, 2016) or impaired cognitive function (Angelhoff, Askenteg, et al, 2019), stress (Angelhoff et al, 2015;Bevan et al, 2019;Feeley et al, 2021), lack of self-care (Stremler et al, 2011), exhaustion (Ramirez et al, 2019), and daytime function such as difficulties to remain awake and/or maintaining enthusiasm with tasks (Herbert et al, 2014;Wright, 2010). In particular, decision-making on the child's care was noted to be impacted by a lack of sleep (Heaton et al, 2006;Herbert et al, 2014;Johnson et al, 2018;McLoone et al, 2013).…”