Adolescents' Suggestions on how to Support Their Sleep: A Focus Group Study.

Sleeping difficulties among adolescents constitute a pressing public health issue, and it is of the utmost importance that these are approached from a health-promotion perspective. This study explores adolescents' suggestions on how their sleep could be supported. Data were collected via eight focus group interviews with 43 adolescents aged 15-16, in Sweden, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results describe the adolescents' suggestions on how their sleep could be supported in three themes: being supported by involved parents- routines, engagement, and warmth are vital; being supported to achieve knowledge on the "whys" and "hows" of sleep-increased knowledge gives the ability to make well-grounded sleep choices; and being guided into finding balance-balance in life is difficult to achieve and adolescents desire support. Parents, school nurses, health professionals, and anyone who has the opportunity to improve and promote sleep should consider adolescents' suggestions.

"I Want to Sleep, but I Can't": Adolescents' Lived Experience of Sleeping Difficulties.

Sleeping difficulties are increasingly prevalent among adolescents and have negative consequences for their health, well-being, and education. The aim of this study was to illuminate the meanings of adolescents' lived experiences of sleeping difficulties. The data were obtained from narrative interviews with 16 adolescents aged 14-15 in a Swedish city and were analyzed using the phenomenological hermeneutic method. The findings revealed four themes: feeling dejected when not falling asleep, experiencing the night as a struggle, searching for better sleep, and being affected the next day. The comprehensive understanding illuminates that being an adolescent with sleeping difficulties means it is challenging to go through the night and to cope the next day. It also means a feeling of being trapped by circumstances. As the adolescents' lived experiences become apparent, the possibility for parents, school nurses, and other professional caregivers to support adolescents' sleep increases.

Reasons for sleeping difficulties as perceived by adolescents: a content analysis.

Sleeping difficulties are increasingly prevalent among adolescents worldwide and have negative consequences for adolescent health and education. The aim of this study was to describe the reasons for sleeping difficulties as perceived by adolescents. Sleeping difficulties include insufficient sleep, trouble falling asleep, waking up at night or sleep that does not leave an individual rested. Data were collected in 2015 using an open-ended question. The sample consisted of n = 475 adolescents from a city in Sweden, aged 15-16 years, with self-assessed sleeping difficulties. The results described the reasons for the adolescents' sleeping difficulties, at a general, thematic level, as an imbalance between requirements and preconditions, distributed to stress, technology use, poor sleep habits, existential thoughts, needs and suffering. To find a balance in their daily lives, adolescents may need support from parents, school nurses and school health services to deal with their sleeping difficulties.

Sleep duration and sleeping difficulties among adolescents: exploring associations with school stress, self-perception and technology use.

Sleeping problems are increasing among adolescents worldwide. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of self-reported sleep duration and sleeping difficulties, as well as to explore their associations with school stress, self-perception, that is how adolescents perceive their appearance and happiness, and technology use among adolescents. Data were collected in 2015 using a questionnaire. A total of 937 ninth grade adolescents, 15-16 years, from a city in western Sweden participated, resulting in a response rate of 83%. The result showed that 55% of the adolescents slept less than the recommended 8 hours per night and 11% had sleeping difficulties. School stress and technology use were associated with short sleep duration. School stress and self-perception were associated with sleeping difficulties. The girls had worse outcomes for sleeping difficulties, school stress, self-perception and technology use than the boys. Based on the results, there is a need for school nurses to implement preventive measures to improve adolescents' sleep.

Caring Through Web-Based Communication: A Qualitative Evaluation of a Nursing Intervention to Create Holistic Well-Being Among Patients With Hematological Disease.

PURPOSE: To examine how written communication between patients with hematological diseases and a nurse within a web-based communication service can be caring. DESIGN: The study is based on qualitative deductive content analysis of 109 written messages between 10 patients and a responding nurse. The evaluated nursing intervention is a web-based communication service where patients could request support from a responding nurse during 2 months of use. A structured theoretical matrix based on Swanson's theory of caring including compassion, competence, and upholding trust is used for the analysis. FINDINGS: Nursing compassion emerges when patients share personal matters and the nurse has an opportunity to explicitly display genuine interest and understanding. Nursing competence is required when patients ask for or are in need of information, advice, and emotional support. The nurse can uphold trust when compassion and competence are exhibited and patients share their innermost feelings. CONCLUSIONS: Web-based communication has the potential to contribute to holistic well-being according to Swanson's theory of caring. The written word lasts, can be read repeatedly, and in connection with writing there is time for reflection. However, the lack of nonverbal cues makes it important that the nurse answers in a fully accurate and explicitly caring way.

The meaning of web-based communication for support: from the patients' perspective within a hematological healthcare setting.

BACKGROUND: Being critically ill with a hematological disease is a challenge, sometimes causing a need for support in the adjustment to the stressful life situation. By providing Web-based communication for support from a nurse, patients get access to an alternative and untraditional way to communicate their issues. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to describe the meaning of using Web-based communication for support from a patient perspective. METHODS: A comprehensive randomized pilot study (n = 30) was conducted, allowing 15 patients in the experimental group to have access to the Web-based communication, to evaluate feasibility. Of these 15 participants, 10 were interviewed, focusing on their experiences. An empirical hermeneutical approach was used and the interpretive analysis focused on the meanings. RESULTS: Web-based communication for support means a space for patients to have their say, consolidation of a matter, an extended caring relationship, access to individual medical assessment, and an opportunity for emotional processing. The main interpretation indicates that the patient's influence on the communication strengthens according to the asynchronous, faceless, and written communication. The increased, and in some sense constant, access to an individual medical and caring assessment, in turn, implies a feeling of safety. CONCLUSION: Web-based communication for support seems to have the potential to enhance patients' participation on their own terms. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: To achieve the possible advantages of Web-based communication for support, nurses must acquire knowledge about caring writing. It requires respect for the patient and articulated accuracy and attention in the response given.