Reducing Nighttime Interruptions and Improving Sleep for Hospitalized Patients by Restructuring Nighttime Clinical Workflow

Background Nighttime sleep disruptions negatively impact the experience of hospitalized patients. Objective To determine the impact of adopting a sleep-promoting nighttime clinical workflow for hospitalized patients on nocturnal disruptions and sleep. Design Survey-based pre- and post-intervention cross-sectional study using convenience samples. Participants Hospitalized veterans on a 23-bed general medical ward at a tertiary Veterans Administration Hospital. Interventions Baseline sleep surveys ( N =149) identified two major sources of interruptions: blood pressure checks at 4 am for telemetry patients and subcutaneous (SQ) heparin injections between 4:30 and 6 am for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. Clinical workflow was restructured to eliminate these disruptions: moving 4 am blood pressure checks to 6 am and providing daily SQ enoxaparin at 9 am as an alternative to Q 8-h SQ heparin, which had prompted an injection between 4:30 and 6 am. The impact of these changes was assessed in a second round of surveys ( N =99). Main Measures Frequency and sources for nighttime sleep disruptions; percentage of patients reporting longer time to fall asleep, more interruptions, and worse sleep quality (vs. home) before and after restructuring nighttime clinical workflow. Key Results After restructuring nighttime clinical workflow, medication administration as a source of nighttime disruption decreased from 40% (59/149) to 4% (4/99) ( p <0.001). Blood pressure checks as a source of disruption decreased from 56% (84/149) to 42% (42/99) ( p =0.033). Fewer patients reported taking longer to fall asleep in the hospital vs. home (39% pre-intervention vs. 25% post-intervention, p =0.021). Similarly, fewer patients experienced waking up more frequently in the hospital vs. home (46% pre-intervention vs. 32% post-intervention, p =0.036). Fewer patients reported sleeping worse in the hospital (44% pre-intervention vs. 39% post-intervention), though this trend was not statistically significant ( p =0.54). Conclusions Nighttime disruptions in hospitalized patients frequently interfere with sleep. Restructuring of the clinical workflow significantly reduced disruptions and improved sleep.