| Sleep
Education:
There is now broad
recognition of the curriculum inadequacies regarding sleep and
its disorders at most medical schools and residency training
programs. A Sleep Academic Award Program was established in
1996 to address these educational gaps. This program has led
to the development of undergraduate and postgraduate sleep curricula,
educational tools, and methods to enhance sleep knowledge. The
awardees, working with national professional societies, have
also begun to address sleep and fatigue in medical training.
There have also been several public health education initiatives,
including an effort to establish lifelong healthy sleep habits
in school-age children begun in 2001 with Garfield, the "Star
Sleeper" as the "spokescat"
for healthy sleep. A high school biology curriculum on sleep,
sleep disorders, and biological rhythms has also been created,
as have programs to combat drowsy driving. Thus, a variety of
educational activities have recently been implemented that have
substantial potential impact on knowledge and public health
behaviors. We need to consolidate and extend the research progress
made to date and to translate new knowledge and discoveries
into effective therapies and improved lifestyle behaviors for
all Americans (as described in the Department of Health and
Human Services 'Healthy People 2010' initiative). Sleep-related
research must continue across the full spectrum from basic science
to clinical investigation to community-based translational programs
in order to apply what is known to improve public health and
quality of human life.
|
