Reducing Sleep Interruptions in the Hospital Setting

Reducing Sleep Interruptions in the Hospital Setting

The purpose of this assignment is to identify a problem, issue, or concern in the professional health care setting that is amenable to an evidence-based intervention. Write a 500-750 word paper on your proposed problem for your evidence-based practice project proposal. Complete the following:

Identify a problem, issue or concern in a professional health care setting that you would like to address for your evidence-based practice project. Research current literature for evidence-based solutions to ensure there is sufficient evidence to support your proposed topic. Note: As you research, you may find there is very little research to support your topic and you will need to choose a new topic. Remember, in order for this to be an evidence-based project proposal, you must have enough evidence to introduce this as a practice change. If you find that you do not have enough supporting evidence to change a practice, then further research would need to be conducted.

Once you have determined there is sufficient research for your chosen topic, develop an initial reference list of five sources to demonstrate there is support for your evidence-based practice project. Follow the ”Steps to an Efficient Search to Answer a Clinical Question” box in Chapter 3 of the textbook. Refer to the ”Search Method Example” as the format in which to compile this data. The majority of references on your list should be research articles. However, national sources such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS), or the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and others may be used when you are gathering statistics to provide the rationale for the problem.
Provide a summary of the problem, include relevant background information, the current impact of the problem or issue in health care, and why it deserves attention. Provide rationale and support using professional literature sources.

Describe the practice setting where the identified issue or problem is occurring. Explain the current impact to the practice setting and the potential consequence if the problem or issue were to continue.
Identify the stakeholders who will be involved in this project. What organizations are concerned about, may benefit from, or are affected by this proposal? List the interested parties, patients, students, agencies, Joint Commission, etc.

State the purpose of the project and project objectives in specific, realistic, and measurable terms. The objectives should address what is to be gained. This will focus your PICOT statement as you develop and refine it over the next few weeks. Remember, measurements need to be taken before and after the evidence-based practice is introduced to identify the expected changes.
Summarize your proposed problem statement. A problem statement is a concise explanation of the problem or issue to be addressed and goals to be reached.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.Reducing Sleep Interruptions in the Hospital Setting

MORE INFO 

Reducing Sleep Interruptions in the Hospital Setting

Introduction

The hospital setting can be a difficult place to get the sleep you need. The fast pace and the constant noise, be it from machines or other patients, keep you up at night. But there are some things that you can do to make your stay in the hospital more comfortable, such as reducing interruptions before bedtime and maintaining quiet hours during the day.

Pre-bed medication review

• Medication review before bedtime

• Review medications with patient and family

• Review medications with nursing staff

• Review medications to ensure they are safe to take with each other, as well as other components of the patient’s care plan.

Minimize patient rounding

• Round in a single person.

• Round in a quiet place.

• Rounds should not be done in patient rooms, as this can increase the risk of patient injury and distress due to noise and light exposure.

• Rounds should be done at approximately the same time every day, with no more than three staff members present at any one time (for example: morning rounds are done by one nurse; afternoon rounds by two nurses; evening rounds by another nurse). This is important because it helps maintain consistency between shifts and reduces fatigue for all involved!

Noise control/quiet time/Quiet at Night initiative (QN)

QN is a hospital-wide initiative to reduce noise levels at night. It has been shown to reduce sleep interruptions, and improve patient satisfaction by reducing patients’ perception of the noise level in their room.

In addition to improving patient care, QN can also help conserve energy: according to one study, if every hospital implemented QN policies then hospitals would save over $3 million per year in electricity costs alone!

Safer sleep policies

Safe sleep policies are a great way to ensure that patients receive the best care possible. These policies can be implemented at any level of healthcare, from hospitals and clinics to home health care.

Here are some examples:

• Limit bedside nurses’ and doctors’ working hours during overnight shifts (e.g., 2 am–8 am)

• Have nurses wear eye masks with small lights at night so they can see where they’re going while they perform their duties (in addition to using a flashlight)

• Provide quiet rooms with fewer distractions so people can rest better in those areas—for example, by removing televisions or providing ear plugs if needed

Developing a night-shift culture

Developing a night-shift culture is not easy. It takes time and dedication, but the rewards are well worth it. The following steps will help you develop an effective night-shift program:

• Create a positive work environment for all your employees. This means creating an open floor plan with plenty of natural light, keeping personal items out of sight (and out of mind), making sure everyone has access to some form of entertainment during their breaks and off hours, etc.

• Set clear expectations for how long each person should be awake at night or in the morning before they go home or start work again on their next shift—this helps ensure that nobody feels like they’re being forced into staying late just because another employee was asked too much overtime; instead, everyone should feel comfortable knowing where their limits lie so no one gets burned out!

Takeaway:

• Takeaway:

• Reduce sleep interruptions in the hospital setting by implementing these strategies.

• Review pre-bed medication review and minimize patient rounding.

• Implement a nighttime noise control policy (QN) or Quiet at Night initiative (QAN). It’s important that your organization’s culture supports an effective QN/QAN program, which includes both staff education and implementation. This can be done through leadership development programs, training sessions for nurses, creating a safe work environment through policies like no smoking or alcohol on shift; establishing safe sleeping areas where patients are able to rest comfortably without being disturbed by other residents while they sleep; providing additional time off if you need it so you can spend time with family members who may be unable to make it into surgery due to illness or injury; offering flexible schedules so employees can take care of their own needs outside of work hours when possible (e., childcare); etc..

Conclusion

The above strategies are designed to help reduce the number of times you have to deal with interrupted sleep. They’re simple, cheap, and easy to implement—and most importantly, they will help staff members get better rest at night so they can focus on your patients in the morning! We hope this blog post has been helpful in providing some ideas on how you can implement these strategies in your hospital setting.