Sweet dreams are made of this... The success of a Sleep Hygiene Education (SHE) intervention to NHS Health Care Professionals during COVID-19

Turner, Kevin; Bath, Julian

Abstract

Purpose:
During the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic Health Care Professionals (HCP’s) have reported experiencing poor sleep as a result of insomnia and burn out. With lack of sleep negatively impacting health and increasing the risks for morbidity and early mortality, a Sleep Hygiene Education (SHE) Intervention was developed to improve experiences of sleep quality and further promote health and wellbeing to a team of NHS health advisers.

Background:
Behavioural and cognitive mechanisms are evidenced to impact on sleep quality and were used as a basis for the development of a Sleep Hygiene Education intervention (SHE) that identified and responded to the individual personal and environmental factors affecting sleep quality. The inclusion of information around goal setting and self-monitoring within the SHE aimed to support and facilitate changes to sleep behaviour, providing an alternative to pharmacological treatments which do not provide a long-term solution to experiences of insomnia.

Methods:
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) assessed sleep quality amongst HCP’S prior to participating in an isolated 90-minute SHE group intervention (n=3) inclusive of psycho-education, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), relaxation therapy and behaviour change techniques. The delivered intervention was evaluated using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), Likert scales and open-ended questions.

Outcomes or impact:
The delivery of a standalone SHE intervention to a small group of HCP’s was well received by attendees and adequately met their needs. A stepped care model characterised by the delivery of low-level interventions through web-based or smart phone interfacing are considered useful in achieving further reach and access within future intervention delivery and development.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: Division of Health Psychology (DHP) 2022 Annual Conference
• Start Date: Jun 28, 2022
• End Date: Jun 29, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 28, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 1, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12087940