Perception of sleep during hospitalisation from the nurses’ and patients’ perspective: an exploratory qualitative study

Abstract Aim. To investigate how nurses and patients perceive sleep and point out the factors that negatively impact patients’ sleep during hospitalisation in selected departments in two hospitals in the Czech Republic. Material and methods. An exploratory qualitative study – thematic analysis. We obtained data from three group interviews involving 16 nurses and eight inpatients from selected departments in two hospitals. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study and thematic analysis. Results. The thematic analysis identified four main themes. Theme (1): Importance of sleep. Theme (2): Quality and organisation of nursing care. Theme (3): Experiencing intense emotions and feelings. Theme (4): Health . Conclusions. Hospitalisation often negatively affects patients’ sleep. Patients’ emotions, experiences, and the hospital environment are essential to achieve good sleep. Nurses and the entire health care system have great potential to improve hospitalisation conditions concerning sleep and the emotional mood of patients and thus indirectly influence the general health of patients and their recovery.