0689 Nurses and Sleep: The Relationship Between Patient-Related Stressors and Sleep Quality

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Poor sleep quality in nurses is linked to worse psychological health. Identifying which occupational stressors may impact nurses’ sleep quality and psychological health may provide an opportunity for intervention. Patient-related stressors such as worrying about and/or an inability to help patients recover or survive hospitalization have a negative impact on a nurses’ psychological health. It remains unclear if patient-related stressors also impact nurses’ sleep quality. We examined if more patient-related stressors are associated with lower sleep quality in nurses. Methods The Worksite Blood Pressure Study is a multi-site study investigating psychosocial factors and ambulatory blood pressure. The study recruited 472 participants from 10 New York City worksites including 105 nurses during 3 waves over 11 years. The current analysis was restricted to 82 nurses at Wave 3. Participants completed the Nurses’ Stress Inventory Questionnaire which assessed the frequency and severity of stressful situations at work and a sleep questionnaire. Items on patient-related stressors and sleep quality were examined with higher scores indicating more stress and worse sleep quality, respectively. A linear regression model was specified predicting sleep quality from stressful patient interactions; participants answering at least 8 of the 16 items querying these interactions were included in the analysis. Age, race/ethnicity, religion, personal income, employment tenure, and years of education were included as covariates. Results Participants (N=82) were 96.3% female, 30.5% Black, 4.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 75.6% Christian. Mean age was 40.2 years (SD = 7.5), mean years of education was 15.4 (SD = 2.2), mean employment tenure was 8.3 years (SD = 6.7), and median personal income was $55,000 (Range $17,500, $95,000). Mean sleep quality was 8.9 (SD = 2.6). Nurses who reported greater frequency and severity of patient-related stressors had significantly worse sleep quality, B = 1.79, 95% CI 0.20, 3.37, p = 0.028. Sensitivity analyses restricting the analysis to nurses with no missing data on stressful interactions replicated these results, B = 2.22, 95% CI 0.34, 4.09, p = 0.022. Conclusion Patient-related stressors were associated with lower sleep quality in nurses. Efforts to increase support to nurses who experience patient-related stressors may help improve nurses’ sleep quality and possibly psychological health. Support (if any) P01HL47540