Inpatient Psychiatric Sleep Care: Prevalence and Barriers to Implementation

Sleep disorders are more likely to affect those with psychiatric disorders than the general population (Ford & Kamerow, 1989; Ohayon, 2002). This likely results in more stress within the individual than the effect of sleep disorders or mental illness alone. Mood disorders account for the majority of mental health related hospitalizations (HCUP, 2015) and of those with mood disorders there are also high rates of insomnia (Soehner & Harvey, 2012). Additionally, a wide variety of sleep disorders (sleep disturbance, sleep onset, etc.) are associated with disorders such as bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia. Evidence suggests treating sleep disorders may also improve psychiatric symptomatology but it is unclear to what extent treatment programs address sleep disorders within inpatient psychiatric settings. This study examined the prevalence of sleep disorder treatment in inpatient psychiatric settings, identified knowledge gaps of mental health care workers, and determined barriers to the implementation of sleep education programs within inpatient psychiatric settings. It was found that 55.6% of units had formalized sleep education (FSE) while 44.4% of units did not have formalized sleep education (NSE), and larger psychiatric units had reported less sleep education than smaller units. This study also showed that NSE units served conduct disorder populations more frequently than FSE units. All units surveyed reported they may benefit from education related to sleep and mental health, sleep hygiene, stimulus control, and relaxation techniques. Additionally, knowledge of nursing directors was demonstrated to be lacking and barriers for sleep education were largely similar across units (e.g., lack of resources, time constraints, and not a priority). These findings outline how effective sleep education programs within inpatient psychiatric settings may be developed in the future.M.S., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 201