Endorsements of surgeon punishment and patient compensation in rested and sleep-restricted individuals.
Prior research has shown that certain surgeon behaviors are associated with an increased risk of malpractice claims, but less is known about how certain patient factors such as sleep may impact patients' desire to pursue litigation and seek financial compensation. In this study, researchers randomized healthy adults to normal sleep and sleep-restriction. After 4 nights, participants read and rated eight medical error vignettes. Sleep restriction was associated with increased desire to punish the surgeons and provide greater financial compensation to the patients described in the vignettes.