factors affecting sleep; intensive care unit; sleep quality; sleep

Introduction: The inability to sleep is one of the most distressing factors for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Various factors that are thought to be related to patient sleep quality come from patient and environmental factors. Aim: To evaluate sleep quality among patients admitted to ICU and investigate environmental and nonenvironmental factors that affect sleep quality in ICU. Method: A multicenter descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 267 patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit of six hospitals in the Czech Republic (February- April 2023). On the day of patients' discharge, factors affecting their sleep were determined using a validated questionnaire. Results: The total quality of sleep in the ICU compared to the quality of sleep at home is significantly reduced (5.16 vs. 6.99, p < 0.001). Men reported significantly higher sleep quality than women (5.26 vs. 4.80, p < 0.001), and people over 60 slept worse (5.99 vs. 6.17, p < 0.001). It was confirmed that sleep quality improved during hospitalization (4.24 vs. 5.20 vs. 5.66, p < 0.001). Among the five most important factors that disturbed sleep (evaluated according to component loading): were medication administration (- 0.478); pain (- 0.370); noise (-0.349); light (-0.329); and nursing activities (-0.299). Conclusion: Reduced sleep quality is a common problem in ICU with a multifactorial etiology.