Assessment of Self-Reported Factors Associated With Impaired Sleep in Hospitalized Adult Patients in Internal Medicine

Objectives To evaluate the different personal, environmental, and social factors associated with the impaired sleep of patients who were admitted for treatment in the department of internal medicine in a tertiary care hospital in Azad Kashmir. Material and methods A single-center, exploratory, prospective study was conducted at Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), a public sector teaching hospital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Medical College, Muzaffarabad, between November 2021 and January 2022. A standard Performa was used to collect and document the demographic information, the duration and quality of sleep at home and after admission to the hospital. The patients were asked to identify and report the most important factors contributing to disturbed sleep in the hospital. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), continuous parametric variables were reported as mean ± standard deviation; nonparametric continuous variables were reported as median; and categorical variables were expressed as percentages. Exploratory factor analysis was performed and principal components were extracted. Results As reported by the patients, the main factors contributing to disturbed sleep were underlying medical conditions, noise, overcrowding and gathering of people, pain, fever, lighting, weather conditions, and medical interventions. Exploratory component factor analysis showed significant loading of overcrowding and lighting in the ward on components 1 and 2. Component 3 was loaded with underlying illness, noise, pain and fever, uncomfortable mattress, and treatment interventions by the medical staff. Conclusions There were many personal and environmental factors, which contributed towards impaired sleep in hospitalized patients. The underlying medical conditions, noise, overcrowding, lighting, pain and fever, are the most commonly reported factors by hospitalized patients.