Abstract
BackgroundInsomnia is a health problem that particularly affects people with schizophrenia. Its repercussions go beyond the disorder itself and affect many areas of life. The aim of the present study is to explore the clinical symptoms and consequences of insomnia in patients diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder and the perceptions of these patients regarding the care they receive.MethodsThe study takes a qualitative approach and uses semi-structured interviews to conduct a descriptive and interpretive analysis of 3 clinically different clusters of patients. These 3 clusters have been defined by using two-step cluster analysis based on the results of the ISI (Insomnia Severity Index) and EQ-5D scales (EuroQol-5D) and the presence of certain diagnostic symptoms in a sample of 170 patients. The final sample was 31 subjects. The analysis was based on a hermeneutic analysis of the patients' narratives regarding their experiences of insomnia.ResultsThe patients' narratives show differences in the intensity and experience of insomnia depending on the severity, as well as its impact on their quality of life. Insomnia has a huge emotional impact. Participants describe ruminations and obsessive thoughts as a key factor hindering falling asleep. Some of the everyday actions they perform encourage the chronicity of insomnia. The desired health response must include interventions that are effective, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, and powerful, such as pharmacological solutions. Psychoeducation and advice on sleep hygiene are highly valued tools as preventive strategies.ConclusionsTo know the experience of users gives us a more comprehensive understanding of insomnia complexities and brings some new intervention strategies in patients with mental disorders. It is important that health professionals intervene preventively to stop the disorder from becoming chronic.
Highlights
Sleep is an temporary unconscious physiological state in which bodily functions and mental activities undergo changes that are of great importance for mental and physical balance [1]
The aim of this study is to qualitatively explore the experience of insomnia, its clinical symptoms, its repercussions and the perception of the care received in patients diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder who are monitored and treated, as outpatients, at the Mental Health Center of Nou Barris, Barcelona, with the intention of adapting future interventions to their clinical, psychological and social realities
The study was based on a hermeneutic analysis of the narratives regarding the experience of insomnia in patients diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder
Summary
Sleep is an temporary unconscious physiological state in which bodily functions and mental activities undergo changes that are of great importance for mental and physical balance [1]. The need for sleep is biological and appears regularly in cycles in order to ensure that the body rests and regenerates the energy spent. This phenomenon occupies one third of human life [2]. According to Mondal et al [6], 73.4% of psychiatric patients have this sleep disorder, where patients with schizophrenia show a prevalence of 23.8%. This figure is similar to that observed by Hou et al [7] and Batalla-Martin et al [8], who found the prevalence at 28.9 and 23.2%. The aim of the present study is to explore the clinical symptoms and consequences of insomnia in patients diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder and the perceptions of these patients regarding the care they receive
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