Children and adolescents hospitalized with chronic conditions: sleep patterns, resilience and quality of life

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the sleep pattern of children and adolescents with chronic conditions during hospitalization and correlate it with resilience, quality of life, clinical and sociodemographic data. Method: Quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study. Data collection took place between May 2022 and January 2023, with children and adolescents with chronic conditions from two hospitals in Rio de Janeiro. The instruments used were the Actigraph, Sandra Prince-Embury’s Resilience Scale for Children and Adolescents and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and correlation tests. Results: 40 hospitalized children and adolescents between the ages of nine and 18 took part. The results showed compromised sleep, especially in terms of duration and time awake after sleep onset. Quality of life scores were low and resilience levels were classified as medium to high. Correlations were found between resilience and sleep. In addition, sleep was influenced by diagnosis and treatment. Conclusion: Children and adolescents hospitalized with chronic conditions experience significant sleep disturbances and have a low quality of life, but have satisfactory levels of resilience.