general assessment

series

Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults

From The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, College of Nursing

Issue Number 6.1, Revised 2012 Series Editor: Marie Boltz, PhD, GNP-BC
Series Co-Editor: Sherry A. Greenberg, MSN, GNP-BC
New York University College of Nursing

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

By: Carole Smyth MSN, APRN, BC, ANP/GNP, Montefiore Medical Center

WHY: Sleep is an important aspect of maintaining the body’s circadian rhythm. Inadequate sleep contributes to heart disease, diabetes,
depression, falls, accidents, impaired cognition, and a poor quality of life. While normal aging changes interfere with the quality of sleep,
other disease conditions and medications used by older adults compromise sleep patterns. A nursing assessment of sleep begins with a
comprehensive assessment of sleep quality and sleep patterns. The nurse may be able to improve the sleep problem immediately with
interventions or work with the health care team to assess the sleep issue in greater depth.

BEST TOOL: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is an effective instrument used to measure the quality and patterns of sleep in the
older adult. It differentiates “poor” from “good” sleep by measuring seven domains: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration,
habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction over the last month. The client self rates each
of these seven areas of sleep. Scoring of the answers is based on a 0 to 3 scale, whereby 3 reflects the negative extreme on the Likert Scale.
A global sum of “5”or greater indicates a “poor” sleeper. Although there are several questions that request the evaluation of the client’s
bedmate or roommate, these are not scored, nor reflected in the attached instrument. An update to the scoring: if 5J is not complete or the
value is missing, it now counts as a “0”. More information on administration and scoring is available at the University of Pittsburgh, Sleep
Medicine Institute, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) website at http://www.sleep.pitt.edu/content.asp?id=1484&subid=2316.

TARGET POPULATION: The PSQI can be used for both an initial assessment and ongoing comparative measurements with older adults
across the health care continuum.

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: The PSQI has internal consistency and a reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) of 0.83 for its seven compo-
nents. Numerous studies using the PSQI in a variety of older adult populations internationally have supported high validity and reliability.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The PSQI is a subjective measure of sleep. Self reporting by clients though empowering, may can reflect
inaccurate information if the client has difficulty understanding what is written, or cannot see or physically write out responses. The scale
has been translated into over 56 languages. For those with visual impairments, the nurse can read the PSQI as written to the client.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

Best practice information on care of older adults: www.ConsultGeriRN.org.
University of Pittsburgh, Sleep Medicine Institute, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Available at http://www.sleep.pitt.edu/content.asp?id=1484&subid=2316.
Alessi, C.A., Martin, J.L., Webber, A.P., Alam, T., Littner, M.R., Harker, J.O., & Josephson, K.R. (2008). More daytime sleeping predicts
less functional recovery among older people undergoing inpatient post-acute rehabilitation. Sleep 31(9), 1291-1300.
Buysse, D.J., Reynolds III, C.F., Monk, T.H., Berman, S.R., & Kupfer, D.J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument
for psychiatric practice and research. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 28(2), 193-213.
Carney, S., Koetters, T., Cho, M., West, C., Paul, S.M. , Dunn, L., Aouizerat, B.E., Dodd, M., Cooper, B., Lee, K. Wara, W., Swift, P.,
& Miaskowski, C. (2011). Differences in sleep disturbance parameters between oncology outpatients and their family caregivers.
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29(8), 1001-1006.
Taibi, D.M., Vitiello M.V. (2011). A pilot study of gentle yoga for sleep disturbance in women with osteoarthritis. Sleep Med, 12(5), 512-517.
Neale, A., Hwalek, M., Scott, R., Sengstock, M., & Stahl, C. (1991). Validation of the Hwalek-Sengstock elder abuse screening test.
Journal of Applied Gerontology, 10(4), 406-418.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce, post, download, and/or distribute, this material in its entirety only for not-for-profit educational purposes only, provided that
The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, College of Nursing is cited as the source. This material may be downloaded and/or distributed in electronic
format, including PDA format. Available on the internet at www.hartfordign.org and/or www.ConsultGeriRN.org. E-mail notification of usage to: [email protected].
 The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Instructions: The following questions relate to your usual sleep habits during the past month only. Your answers should indicate the
most accurate reply for the majority of days and nights in the past month. Please answer all questions. During the past month,

1. When have you usually gone to bed?

2. How long (in minutes) has it taken you to fall asleep each night?
3. When have you usually gotten up in the morning?
4. How many hours of actual sleep do you get at night? (This may be different than the number of hours you spend in bed)

5. During the past month, how often have you Not during Less than Once or Three or
had trouble sleeping because you… the past once a twice a more times
month (0) week (1) week (2) week (3)
a. Cannot get to sleep within 30 minutes
b. Wake up in the middle of the night or early morning
c. Have to get up to use the bathroom
d. Cannot breathe comfortably
e. Cough or snore loudly
f. Feel too cold
g. Feel too hot
h. Have bad dreams
i. Have pain
j. Other reason(s), please describe, including how often you
have had trouble sleeping because of this reason(s):
6. During the past month, how often have you taken
medicine (prescribed or “over the counter”) to help you
sleep?
7. During the past month, how often have you had trouble staying
awake while driving, eating meals, or engaging in social activity?
8. During the past month, how much of a problem has it been
for you to keep up enthusiasm to get things done?
Very Fairly Fairly Very
good (0) good (1) bad (2) bad (3)
9. During the past month, how would you rate your sleep
quality overall?

Component 1 #9 Score.......................................................................................................................................................................................C1
Component 2 #2 Score (15min=0; 16-30 min=1; 31-60 min=2, >60 min=3) + #5a Score
(if sum is equal 0=0; 1-2=1; 3-4=2; 5-6=3)...............................................................................................................C2
Component 3 #4 Score (>7=0; 6-7=1; 5-6=2; <5=3)................................................................................................................C3
Component 4 (total # of hours asleep)/(total # of hours in bed) x 100
>85%=0, 75%-84%=1, 65%-74%=2, <65%=3.........................................................................................................C4
Component 5 Sum of Scores #5b to #5j (0=0; 1-9=1; 10-18=2; 19-27=3).............................................................................C5
Component 6 #6 Score.......................................................................................................................................................................................C6
Component 7 #7 Score + #8 Score (0=0; 1-2=1; 3-4=2; 5-6=3)..........................................................................................C7

Add the seven component scores together Global PSQI Score

Buysse, D.J., Reynolds III, C.F., Monk, T.H., Berman, S.R., & Kupfer, D.J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric
practice and research. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 28(2), 193-213.
Reprinted with permission from copyright holder for educational purposes per the University of Pittsburgh, Sleep Medicine Institute, Pittsburgh
Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) website at http://www.sleep.pitt.edu/content.asp?id=1484&subid=2316.

general assessment series

A series provided by The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New
York University, College of Nursing
Best Practices in Nursing
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