Abstract
Rationale: Adequate sleep plays a significant role in supporting illness and injury recovery. Conversely, insufficient and disturbed sleep is associated with poorer rehabilitation outcomes and longer hospital stays. International research indicates that while most occupational therapists identify sleep as an area of scope, many receive little or no sleep education. In Aotearoa New Zealand sleep health inequities exist between Māori and non-Māori, driven by social inequities. Our previous research indicates that poor sleep health may be a pathway linking social disadvantage to ethnic inequities in health, signalling the importance of initiatives - including the role of occupational therapists - that support healthy sleep for Māori.
Aim: To investigate occupational therapists' unmet sleep education and resource needs.
Methods: An overview will be provided of our mixed methods research comprising three activities: (1) strengthening networks, prioritising connections with tangata whenua kaiwhakaora ngangahau, and forming a collaborative research team to develop occupational therapy sleep resources; (2) reviewing existing sleep education, information and professional development resources by conducting semi-structured face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders (occupational therapy school staff, occupational therapy professional bodies); (3) surveying practising occupational therapists' level of sleep knowledge, incorporation of sleep in current clinical practice, sleep education received, sleep resources used, and views on what is required to address unmet need in this occupational domain via an online survey.
Implications: Preliminary results will be presented and potential next steps discussed. Study findings will inform the next phase of this health delivery project to develop and trial sleep resources for occupational therapists.