755 A Novel Modularized Intervention to Improve Sleep in Older Hospitalized Veterans

Li, Yihan; Miller, Megan; Torrence, Nicole

INTRODUCTION: Disturbed sleep in hospitalized patient populations is a highly prevalent phenomenon, with patients commonly reporting problems with shorter sleep duration, more frequent awakenings, and overall poorer sleep quality during hospital stay compared to at home. Sleep disturbance during hospitalization is especially problematic as sleep is associated with both physical and psychological well-being. Poorer sleep has been found to impact recovery outcomes in a number of patient populations including mild traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and most recently, in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The current analyses examined pilot data from a novel brief modularized sleep intervention implemented with older adult Veterans living on a subacute rehabilitation unit. METHODS: Participants were screened for sleep problems upon admission to the unit. Veterans who screened positive were invited to participate in the sleep intervention. Components of the intervention were selected based on screener responses and included group sleep hygiene psychoeducation, environmental accommodations (e.g. ear plugs, eye mask, soothing music), and CPAP use education. Measures completed at pre- and post- intervention assessed sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), global health functioning (PROMIS Global Health Scale), and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9). Pre- and post- scores were compared using paired sample t-tests. Two samples t-tests compared change scores in PHQ-9 between groups. RESULTS: A total of 33 Veterans were included in the analyses (Mage = 69.6, 3 female, intervention group n = 21). Participants showed a trend toward decreased PHQ-9 scores following the intervention (t(16) = 1.58, p = 0.100). There were no significant effects of the intervention on sleep quality or global health. Compared to the non-intervention group, the intervention group showed greater decrease in PHQ-9 scores at the time of post-intervention (t(25) = .828, p = .025). CONCLUSION: Preliminary data suggests that a brief modularized sleep intervention may benefit depressive symptoms for older adults during hospitalization. Additional research is needed to better understand the impact of a brief intervention on self-reported sleep quality during the hospitalization period. SUPPORT (IF ANY): This project was funded by a VISN 20 Seed Grant as a Whole Health promotion in alignment with the National VA Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation.