THE EFFECT OF ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOM LEVEL ON SLEEP QUALITY IN THE ELDERLY WITH HEART FAILURE

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of activities of daily living and depression symptom level on sleep quality in the elderly with heart failure.

Methodology: In this descriptive study the sample consisted of 95 patients presented to the cardiology outpatient clinic of a university hospital due to heart failure and who met the inclusion criteria of the study. The research data wss collected using the Personal Information Form, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Katz Index-Activities of Daily Living and the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form.

Results: It was found that the sleep quality of all patients who participated in the study was low (9.98 ± 2.74). The mean depression symptom level score of the patients was high (7.58 ± 3.58), and that sleep quality decreased as the depression symptom level score increased (p<0.05). There was no relationship between the total activities of daily living score and the total sleep quality score, and that the sleep quality of the dependent patients in the washing and transfer dimensions, which are the sub-dimensions of activities of daily living, were lower than that of the independent ones. Also, it was found that as the level of dependence increased in the daily living activities increased, the level of depression symptoms increased too.

Conclusions: The study revealed that elderly patients with heart failure experienced significant sleep problems and that their sleep quality decreased as the depression symptom levels increased.