A descriptive study of patients' perceptions to sleep in a general practice was undertaken. The aim of the study was to describe the perceptions about sleep in the adult patient in a general practice environment. This included descriptions of demographic data, patient’s perceptions and expectations of sleep and their perceived seriousness and prevalence of sleep disorders. Differences in perceptions about sleep and sleep hygiene between patients with and without a sleep problem were also determined. A self-administered questionnaire with an accompanying subject information sheet was used for the research. The questionnaire was given to adult (over 18 years of age) patients,with prior informed consent, attending the author's practice in Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape, South
Africa), for completion in the waiting room.
A sample of 400 patients was used. Simple descriptive statistics were used to discuss three main areas of the study: 1) demographics, 2) perceived prevalence and seriousness of sleep disorders and 3) perceptions of sleep hygiene. Analysis of the results revealed a population that was predominantly White (78.9% White,11.2% Coloured, 8.1% Black)), young (67.7% were less than 40 years of age),with equal male and female ratios, well-educated (69.5% passed Metric) and with a current job (over 90% were employed).
Despite such a young population the incidence of self-reported sleep problems was markedly high and were of long duration (25.8% of patients had some sort of sleep disorder, while 23.5% admitted having a sleep problem) and compared favourably with overseas statistics.
Long-term sleep problems were more common in the population studied. Males had more long-term sleep-problems than females. Black patients slept for more longer periods, woke up more often without going back to sleep and perceived their sleep problem as more serious than White, Coloured and Indian patients. Patients with a higher level of education were less likely to; have a sleep problem,feel worried about their sleep, see someone professional about their sleep and suffer from any medical or psychological condition than those with a lower level of education.
Patients who perceived they had a sleep problem were; more worried about their sleep, suffering from more medical or psychological conditions, taking more medication to sleep, more sleepier during the day, not falling asleep easily, not waking up feeling refreshed, waking up too early, v/aking up and going back to sleep with more difficulty, consulting someone regarding their sleep more and were consulting someone professional regarding their sleep problem more than patients without a sleep problem. Underreporting of patients’ sleep problems to health professionals was encountered.
Only 10 out of the 26 sleep hygiene questions were statistically significant. Perceptions of sleep hygiene did not correlate with having a sleep problem. People who had a sleep problem probably knew about correct sleeping hygiene, but were either not implementing it, or had some external factor accounting for their poor sleep.
Certain inferences were made from this study highlighting important patient perceptions regarding the concept of sleep in general. These may be used as recommendations for family physicians to assist in management of patients complaining of sleep problems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/14066 |
| Date | 07 March 2014 |
| Creators | Bassanino, Mauro |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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