Abstract

Johansson A, Karlsson J, Brödje K, Edell‐Gustafsson U. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2012; 18 : 44–51 Self‐care strategies to facilitate sleep in patients with heart disease—A qualitative study This study aimed at exploring and describing the self‐care management strategies used by patients with coronary artery disease to facilitate sleep. Qualitative interviews in a dialogue manner, in a phenomenographic reference frame analyzed according to manifest and latent principles of qualitative content analysis, were performed. A purposeful sampling technique was used including 11 patients with coronary heart disease in a Heart Medical Unit in a general hospital setting. Two main themes were identified: ‘sleep‐rhythm’ and ‘sleep‐hygiene’ including four descriptive categories. The categories reveal five basic responses including emotions, cognition, physical symptoms (reactions), behaviours and/or the sleep environment, which were related to perceived or actual presence of sleep‐wake problems and health that were the underlying reason for the self‐care management strategies. Basically, intervention studies that address these five responses for choice of non‐pharmacological methods based on cognitive behavioural therapy provided by nurses are needed.