Sleep disorders represent a major public health problem, affecting at least 15-20% of the U.S. population on a chronic basis, and an even larger number intermittently. These disorders result in significant mortality, morbidity, and impairment in productivity and quality of life. Most of these disorders are diagnosable and treatable. However, a serious misunderstanding of the primary symptoms of these disorders, particularly insomnia and sleepiness, by both physicians and the general population, result in failure to properly identify these conditions as medical disorders. Furthermore, physicians frequently lack the knowledge to conduct basic evaluations even when the condition is brought to their attention. This proposal puts forth a multi-faceted program of curriculum development and implementation, public health education, and design of new educational strategies in order to address these challenges. The goal of this proposal is not only to impart knowledge but also to alter physician and patient attitudes and behavior with respect to identification and treatment of sleep disorders. These goals will be accomplished by: 1) Introduction to issues of sleep and circadian rhythms at the undergraduate level in an effort to stimulate interest in this field and encourage careers in sleep medicine; 2) Development of formal pre-clinical and clinical curricula for undergraduate medical training, which span all four years of medical school training and employ teaching technologies which emphasize student involvement through he use of problem-based small groups, computer interactive, case-based learning, and direct clinical experience; 3) use of our extensive outreach programs in sleep medicine and psychiatry to provide educational interventions for mental health workers and primary care physicians; 4) Development of educational material which are exportable and applicable in medical schools and other learning institutions throughout the country; 5) Dissemination of developed resources to institutions nationally by traditional publishing avenues and electronic means; 6) Evaluation of educational impact by systematic testing of both knowledge and attitude change which occur in response to educational interventions.
| Sateia, Michael J; Reed, Virginia A; Christian Jernstedt, G (2005) The Dartmouth sleep knowledge and attitude survey: development and validation. Sleep Med 6:47-54 |
| Sateia, Michael J; Nowell, Peter D (2004) Insomnia. Lancet 364:1959-73 |
| Sateia, Michael J (2003) Neuropsychological impairment and quality of life in obstructive sleep apnea. Clin Chest Med 24:249-59 |
| Sateia, M J; Greenough, G; Nowell, P (2000) Sleep in neuropsychiatric disorders. Semin Clin Neuropsychiatry 5:227-37 |
