Exploration of Patients' Perceptions About Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Their Efforts to Reduce the Risk: A Qualitative Study

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a health problem that can cause various negative impacts on health, but society considers OSA to be normal. This research aims to determine how the patient's perception and efforts reduce OSA risk. A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted. Inclusion criteria were experiencing OSA symptoms such as snoring, sleepiness during the day, and often waking up at night. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques took seven participants who met these criteria. Data were collected through interviews, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the STOP-BANG questionnaire (SBQ). The method and time triangulation were used in this study. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis from the Colaizzi approach. Based on the SBQ, all participants have a high risk of OSA but perceived it as a normal complaint. Three themes were found in this study: participants perceive OSA as a usual complaint, perceive that OSA does not endanger health, and do not take action to reduce OSA. It is hoped that this study's results can increase nurses' awareness to provide education about sleep problems to the community because sleep problems have not received much attention in Indonesia