The impact of quiet time on sleep in ICU

Sleep disturbance is a significant source of stress during illness, especially in the intensive care units. The purpose of this study is to describe the environmental factors of noise and light in an ICU, and to evaluate the effect of implementing a quiet time protocol. The philosophical framework is Florence Nightengale's environmental elements in relation to patient care. The study is a replication study of Olson, Borel, Laskowitz, Moore, and McConnell's (2001). The projected sample is 100 patients admitted to a 30-bed ICU of a community hospital in the Midwest over a 5-month period. A pretest-posttest design to evaluate differences between sleep frequency during the quiet-time condition and sleep frequency during usual care conditions will be used. Trained nurse observers will indicate whether patients are asleep, awake, or in anindeterminate sleep-wake state. Quiet time will be during the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Lights will be dimmed, blinds closed, televisions turned off, and visits minimized. Light and sound will be measured using a light meter and a digital sound meter. Permission will be sought from Ball State University, and the participating hospital. The study will provide information about the impact of quiet time on sleep in the ICU.School of NursingThesis (M.S.