"I'd eat a bucket of nails if you told me it would help me sleep:" perceptions of insomnia and its treatment in patients with stable heart failure.

BACKGROUND

Poor sleep, including insomnia, is common among patients with heart failure (HF). However, little is known about the efficacy of interventions for insomnia in this population. Prior to developing interventions, there is a need for better understanding of patient perceptions about insomnia and its treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate HF patients' perceptions about 1) insomnia and its consequences; 2) predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors for insomnia; 3) self-management strategies and treatments for insomnia; and 4) preferences for insomnia treatment.

METHODS

The study, guided by the "3 P" model of insomnia, employed a parallel convergent mixed methods design in which we obtained qualitative data through focus groups and quantitative data through questionnaires (sleep quality, insomnia severity, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep; sleep-related daytime symptoms and functional performance). Content analysis was used to evaluate themes arising from the focus group data, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. The results of both forms of data collection were compared and synthesized.

RESULTS

HF patients perceived insomnia as having a negative impact on daytime function and comorbid health problems, pain, nocturia, and psychological factors as perpetuating factors. They viewed use of hypnotic medications as often necessary but disliked negative daytime side effects. They used a variety of strategies to manage their insomnia, but generally did not mention their sleep concerns to physicians whom they perceived as not interested in sleep.

CONCLUSIONS

HF patients believe insomnia is important and multi-factorial. Behavioral treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, for insomnia may be efficacious in modifying perpetuating factors and likely to be acceptable to patients.