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Nurse-driven sleep interventions improve subjective sleep quality and patient satisfaction in hospitalized medical-surgical patients

This study compared nurse-driven and combined nurse-physician sleep interventions against standard care in 92 medical-surgical inpatients. Both intervention groups reported significantly deeper sleep, shorter sleep latency, fewer awakenings, faster return to sleep, and better overall sleep quality compared to controls (all p < 0.05). The nurse-driven intervention also led to an 8.47% increase in patient satisfaction with nighttime quietness and $21,351.68 in cost savings from reduced sitter hours.

Last updated: Aug 6, 2026•0 RCTs•📖 Read as article →

Evidence Score

Evidence Score34/100
Human RCT☆☆☆☆☆
Meta-analysis☆☆☆☆☆
Mechanism★★★★★
Safety★★★★☆
Confidencelow

Study Evidence

Study 1. A Comparison of Nurse-Driven and Combined Physician and Nurse-Driven Interventions for Improving Sleep Quality and Quantity in Hospitalized Patients.

observational

Wong MT, Lo AT, Abdulrahman SD, Sasaki R, Seymann G, Moazzam A · Cureus (2026)

Participants: 92
Duration: 7 months
Intervention: Nightly nurse-led sleep rounds with a personalized Sleep Hygiene Menu (environmental modifications, comfort measures, relaxation aids) with or without physician modification of overnight orders to reduce non-urgent vital signs, labs, and medications during 10 PM-6 AM
Outcome: Subjective sleep quality (modified Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire), sleep latency, nocturnal awakenings, return to sleep, overall sleep quality, patient satisfaction (HCAHPS nighttime quietness score), sitter hours, cost savings
Effect Size: N/A (p values reported but no effect size given)
Population: Medical-surgical inpatients (29 control, 31 nurse intervention, 32 nurse+physician intervention)

Result: This study compared nurse-driven and combined nurse-physician sleep interventions against standard care in 92 medical-surgical inpatients. Both intervention groups reported significantly deeper sleep, shorter sleep latency, fewer awakenings, faster return to sleep, and better overall sleep quality compared to controls (all p < 0.05). The nurse-driven intervention also led to an 8.47% increase in patient satisfaction with nighttime quietness and $21,351.68 in cost savings from reduced sitter hours.

PubMed: 42500757DOI: 10.7759/cureus.111395

Mechanism Graph

Nurse-led sleep rounds identify patient-specific sleep barriers
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Personalized Sleep Hygiene Menu provides environmental modifications, comfort measures, and relaxation aids
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Physician order modifications reduce non-urgent clinical disruptions during protected sleep window
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Result: Improved subjective sleep quality and patient satisfaction

Limitations

  • ⚠Small sample size (92 patients total) limits generalizability
  • ⚠Subjective sleep measurement only; no objective actigraphy data
  • ⚠Sequential cohort design (not randomized) may introduce confounding from temporal trends

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Sleep Hygiene Menu used in this study?▼

The Sleep Hygiene Menu is a personalized set of non-pharmacologic interventions including environmental modifications (e.g., dimming lights, reducing noise), comfort measures (e.g., warm blankets, positioning), and relaxation aids (e.g., guided imagery, earplugs) offered by nurses during nightly sleep rounds.

Did adding physician order modifications improve sleep more than nurse interventions alone?▼

No, the combined nurse-physician intervention showed no significant additional benefit over nurse-driven interventions alone for any sleep quality measure (all p > 0.05).

What cost savings were reported from the nurse-driven sleep intervention?▼

Sitter hours were reduced by 896 hours over seven months, yielding $21,351.68 in cost savings.

How was sleep quality measured in this study?▼

Sleep quality was measured using a modified Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ), which assesses depth of sleep, sleep latency, number of awakenings, return to sleep, and overall sleep quality.

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References

  1. 1.Wong MT, Lo AT, Abdulrahman SD, Sasaki R, Seymann G, Moazzam A. "A Comparison of Nurse-Driven and Combined Physician and Nurse-Driven Interventions for Improving Sleep Quality and Quantity in Hospitalized Patients.." Cureus, 2026. PMID: 42500757 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.111395
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