1166 Investigating Social Workers’ Sleep Health Knowledge: Opportunities to Promote Sleep Health Among Underserved Populations

Abstract

Introduction Social workers are often front-line psychosocial providers working with underserved populations, many of whom struggle with sleep. They are uniquely positioned to promote sleep health among individuals experiencing health inequities. However, U.S. accredited social work programs do not require sleep health training. We used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate social work students’: a) sleep health knowledge; b) self-reported sleep quality; c) prior sleep health education; and d) client discussions about sleep, in order to inform the development of a sleep health training for social work students. Methods Twenty-five social work students were recruited via a listserv email sent at a Florida university. Participants were asked to complete the Sleep Beliefs Scale (SBS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and then to participate in a one-hour long focus group (3 groups with 6-11 students/group) conducted by experienced qualitative researchers. Results Mean age was 27.0±11.5 yrs, 92.0% were female, and 48.0% were non-Hispanic white, 28.0% African American, 16.0% Hispanic, 8.0% other. Only 28.0% indicated that they had ever discussed sleep with clients. Knowledge of healthy sleep behaviors (assessed via the SBS) was moderate on a 0-20 scale (13.88, S.D.= 2.7). Participants had an average PSQI score of 8.8 (SD.=4.0), reported sleeping an average of 6.0 hours (SD=1.6), and mean sleep efficiency of 87.0% (SD=12.0). Themes from focus group data highlight students’ lack of exposure to sleep health training and a dearth of sleep discussions in clinical practice. Conclusion Though social work students acknowledged the importance of sleep health promotion, they reported feeling ill-equipped to promote healthy sleep practices due to lack of sleep education. Sleep health training could allow social workers to confidently promote healthy sleep practices among their clients, recognize when appropriate to refer clients for evaluation for sleep disorders, and improve social workers’ own sleep health. An online educational program was subsequently created by study investigators to meet these aims. Support American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation;Abstract Introduction Social workers are often front-line psychosocial providers working with underserved populations, many of whom struggle with sleep. They are uniquely positioned to promote sleep health among individuals experiencing health inequities. However, U.S. accredited social work programs do not require sleep health training. We used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate social work students’: a) sleep health knowledge; b) self-reported sleep quality; c) prior sleep health education; and d) client discussions about sleep, in order to inform the development of a sleep health training for social work students. Methods Twenty-five social work students were recruited via a listserv email sent at a Florida university. Participants were asked to complete the Sleep Beliefs Scale (SBS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and then to participate in a one-hour long focus group (3 groups with 6-11 students/group) conducted by experienced qualitative researchers. Results Mean age was 27.0±11.5 yrs, 92.0% were female, and 48.0% were non-Hispanic white, 28.0% African American, 16.0% Hispanic, 8.0% other. Only 28.0% indicated that they had ever discussed sleep with clients. Knowledge of healthy sleep behaviors (assessed via the SBS) was moderate on a 0-20 scale (13.88, S.D.= 2.7). Participants had an average PSQI score of 8.8 (SD.=4.0), reported sleeping an average of 6.0 hours (SD=1.6), and mean sleep efficiency of 87.0% (SD=12.0). Themes from focus group data highlight students’ lack of exposure to sleep health training and a dearth of sleep discussions in clinical practice. Conclusion Though social work students acknowledged the importance of sleep health promotion, they reported feeling ill-equipped to promote healthy sleep practices due to lack of sleep education. Sleep health training could allow social workers to confidently promote healthy sleep practices among their clients, recognize when appropriate to refer clients for evaluation for sleep disorders, and improve social workers’ own sleep health. An online educational program was subsequently created by study investigators to meet these aims. Support American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation;