Sleep Characteristics of Parents of Children in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Pilot Observational Study.
Hyejung Lee, Hyeryeong Lee, Sanghun Jung and 1 others
PMID 42581838WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of children in a Korean PICU reported poor sleep, and 14 parents met insomnia criteria.
Wrist sensors did not line up with questionnaire scores, and stress was not linked to sleep, so asking and measuring may give different pictures.
Key findings
01All participants reported poor subjective sleep quality, with mean PSQI global score 9.2 and all global scores above 5.
02Actigraphy over 3 nights showed average total sleep time 343.8 min and sleep efficiency 86.8%.
03Questionnaire sleep scores were not significantly associated with actigraphy parameters, except GSDS daytime function.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a small pilot with 18 parents, no sample size calculation, and no comparison group. Most participants were mothers, and recruitment was from one PICU in South Korea, so results may not apply to all PICU parents. Data collection happened during changing pandemic visiting policies, with visits limited to 15 minutes and only once to three times per week. The three sleep measures covered different time windows, making direct comparison difficult. Actigraphy was worn for only 3 nights, and one night of data was excluded for incorrect device placement.
Declared interests
Funded by a 2023 faculty-student research grant from Yonsei University College of Nursing. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that PICU nurses should use actigraphy or sleep monitoring because it improves parents' decision-making. This was a small observational pilot with 18 parents and no comparison group, and it did not test any intervention.