並列摘要
Insomnia is a very common condition and permanent concern to cancer patients. Despite the high prevalence of insomnia, clinicians and researchers are seldom concerned about the sleep quality of cancer patients. The purpose of this article is to provide information related to the sleep/wake cycle, the definition of insomnia, factors of insomnia in cancer patients, subjective and objective assessment of insomnia, and the pharmacologic and multi-component interventions (sleep hygiene education, instructions in stimulus control, strategies of sleep restriction, and relaxation-based skills) for insomnia. The ultimate goal of this review is expected to enhance the nurses' understanding the factors of insomnia in cancer patients through subjective and objective assessment. Based on the assessment, physicians can prescribe treatment orders, and nurses can provide appropriate nursing interventions to reduce the insomnia disturbances and improve the sleep quality of cancer patients.