Abstract: Quality of Sleep Among Women in Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya (Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference - Recentering & Democratizing Knowledge: The Next 30 Years of Social Work Science)

Schedule:

Friday, January 12, 2024

Independence BR B, ML 4 (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)

* noted as presenting author

Ebuka Ukoh, BA, MSW student, Columbia University, NY

Lena Obara, MA, Doctoral Student, Rutgers University-Newark, New Brunswick, NJ

Millicent Dzombo, MA, Field Manager, Columbia University, NY

LaNae Plaxico, BA, Project Coordinator, Columbia University, NY

Stephanie Otieno, BA, RA and Community Health Worker, Columbia University, NY

Anna Balakrishnan, LMSW, Doctoral Student, Columbia University, NY

Chloé Lincoln, MSW, Consultant, Columbia University, NY

Susan Witte, PhD, LCSW, Professor, Columbia University, New York, NY

Samantha Winter, PhD, Assistant Professor, Columbia University, NY

Background and Purpose: Sleep quality is an important aspect of health and coping that can be affected by various factors, including climate change. A previous case study of women in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, found that climate change-related factors such as increased temperatures and flooding can negatively impact sleep quality. Women in informal settlements are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to poor living conditions and lack of access to resources. The 800 women included in this study reported that more sleep was among their top 3 coping strategies in response to stress. This study seeks to characterize sleep experiences among these women residents in informal settlements and to highlight the need for interventions to improve sleep quality in vulnerable populations.

Methods: As a part of a large community-participatory, longitudinal study investigating the impacts of climate change on women’s physical and mental health, we analyzed data on women’s quality of sleep collected through monthly surveys (September 2022 – February 2023) completed by a probability sample of 800 women living in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Four questions adapted from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index asked women about hours of sleep, rating of overall sleep quality, how often they had trouble sleeping, and the cause of sleep disturbance. This data was collected by a team of 16 community health volunteers from informal settlements in Nairobi, who also provided critical expertise in ongoing analysis.

Results: Overall, most women (69%) reported sleeping between 6-9 hours per night. 28% of women sleep 9 hours per night, 19% sleep 8 hours, 14% sleep 7 hours, and 8% sleep 6 hours.

Most women (86%) report good or very good sleep quality, while 14% of women report their quality of sleep is bad or very bad.

65% report having no trouble sleeping in the past month, while 35% reported having trouble sleeping one or more times per week.

Common reasons shared by women who report having had trouble sleeping included: stress or anxiety (38%), health, pain, or sickness (23%), children and child caretaking (11%), finances (23%), business or employment (5%), climate concerns (4%), and other stressful thoughts (6%).

Conclusions and Implications: A deeper understanding of the quality of sleep of women in informal settlements is a vital component of research and program design aimed at addressing health risks that continue to be aggravated by climate change. For example, findings from this study suggest that generally women are able to get a recommended number of hours of sleep; however, among those having trouble sleeping, there are many stressors which might be mitigated to help improve quality of sleep and overall coping. Strategies might include access to cooling technologies, mosquito nets, and improving housing conditions.