Sleep Quality of Freshman Nursing Students in Taiwan

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Ching-Feng Huang, MSN, RN
School of Nursing, Chang Gung Institute of Technology Chiayi Campus, Pu-tz, Chiayi, Taiwan
Hsing-Mei Chen, PhD, RN
School of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Hsiu-Chih Chen, BS
General Affairs Department, Du-Ba Elementary School, Tainan County, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand sleep quality among freshman nursing students in Taiwan.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to understand the relationship between sleep and stresses in freshman nursing students.

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictors of sleep quality in freshman nursing students in Taiwan.

Methods:

A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design was employed. A convenience sample of 104 participants was recruited from a nursing college located in southern Taiwan. Participants consented to complete the questionnaire after one month of their enrollments. Measurements included demographics, perceived general health, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and stress questionnaires, containing academic load, interpersonal and heterosexual relationships, economic factor, symptoms (frequency and stress level), and other daily stresses.

Results:

The mean PSQI score was 6.44 ± 2.53 with a range of 2 to 13. Approximately 56% of the participants were identified as poor sleepers (PSQI greater than 5). The mean ESS score was 8.92 ± 3.51 with 32% experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS greater than 10). The PSQI score was significantly associated with ESS (r = .31), perceived general health (r = -.37), and stress scores including academic load (r = .37), interpersonal relationship (r = .22), symptom frequency (r = .38), and other daily stresses (r = .34). By using a multiple regression model analysis with forward method, three major predictor variables (symptom frequency [29%], perceived general health [4%], and part-time job [3.3%]) accounted for 36.3% of the variance in sleep quality.

Conclusion:

Developing strategies to improve symptom frequency is the primary step to promote health perception and sleep quality. Better time management skill is needed for students to reschedule their day time activities and sleep time, especially for those who have a part-time job. The effect of sleep quality on academic performance should be further evaluated.