Sleep quality of women with gynecological and breast cancer.

Subjective sleep quality has been recognized as a valuable indicator of health and quality of life. This exploratory and descriptive study aimed at describing habitual sleep quality of women suffering from gynecological and breast cancer and comparing habitual versus sleep quality during hospitalization. Twenty-five women admitted in hospital for clinical treatment of cancer completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) within 72 hours after admission and again just before discharge. Fifty-two percent of subjects reported habitual bad sleep quality, and this proportion increased to 80% of subjects during hospital stay. Subjects indicated the following most frequent causes of night sleep disturbance: need to go to the toilet, waking up early and receiving nursing care during the night. Results point to the importance of including careful assessment of sleep quality and environment in nursing care planning for oncology patients, mainly during hospitalization.