The Effect of Sleep Health Education Program by Telephone Follow-Up on the Sleep Quality Among the Elderly

Objectives: Low quality sleep is one of the most common problems during the elderly. The present study aimed at determination of effect of sleep health education program by telephone follow-up on the sleep quality among the elderly. Methods & Materials: This semi-experimental study was performed on 80 elderly people aged 74-60 years who had the criteria to enter the study. The data collection tools included two sections: Demographic Information and the Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire. Sampling was performed by systematic random sampling and the elderly were randomly assigned to one of the intervention and control groups after completing the pre-test. The intervention group received a one-hour face-to-face training session on sleep health. The follow-ups were made 2 times/week in the first month and once/week in the second. Routine care was performed for the control group. Immediately after the second month, the post-test questionnaire was completed for both groups. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the mean score of sleep quality before intervention in the experimental (8.02) and control (7.47) groups (p = 0.32). But after the intervention, the mean score of sleep quality in the intervention group (5.42) was significantly reduced compared to the control group (7.67) (p <0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that sleep health education based on telephone follow-up improves the quality of sleep in the elderly, so it is recommended that health care providers use this method to improve the quality of sleep in the elderly.