Preventive Effect of Cognitive Stimulation and Sleep Hygiene on Delirium in COVID-19 Intensive Care Patients

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a two-stage intervention, including sensory stimulation and sleep hygiene based on a nursing model, on the reduction of delirium development in Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as a pretest-posttest control group and trial model. The sample size of the study was 92 patients with COVID-19, including 43 in the experimental group and 49 in the control group, based on power analysis. The study was conducted in two separate COVID-19 ICUs. Sensory stimulation and sleep hygiene interventions were applied to the patients in the intervention group according to the Living Activities-Based Nursing Model. The intervention was applied to the experimental group until the patients were discharged. Results: It was determined that there was no statistical difference between the experimental and control group patients included in the study in terms of demographic and treatment characteristics and vital and arterial blood gas values (p>0.05). In the study, it was determined that sensory stimulation and sleep hygiene intervention based on the nursing model creates a statistically significant difference in the delirium development levels of the experimental and control group patients (p<0.05). It was determined that delirium developed in 56% of the patients in the experimental group and 80% in the control group after the intervention, and that the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The sensory stimulation and sleep hygiene intervention based on the nursing model was effective in reducing the incidence of delirium in ill COVID-19