Administrative Core

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The mission of the University of Washington Center for Research on Management of Sleep Disturbances (UW-CRMSD) is to improve health, well being, and quality of life through the enhancement of sleep quality across the lifespan. Sleep disturbances are common, serious, costly and treatable. Over 70 million people In the U.S. have some type of sleep disturbance and many are unaware that they have a problem.''Sleep disturbances are associated with particular sleep disorders (e.g. insomnia, sleep disordered breathing, restless legs syndrome), are often co-morbid with acute and chronic illness states (e.g. arthritis, neurologic disorders, depression) or arise during developmental transitions (e.g. adolescence, menopause, retirement), and are sometimes self-imposed due to lifestyle choices, such as work or caregiving demands. Regardless of etiology, sleep disturbances most often manifest as disrupted or fragmented sleep or as an inadequate amount of sleep. Untreated sleep disturbances pose significant daytime consequences and place individuals of all ages at considerable risk for adverse health outcomes. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to adverse health outcomes from unrecognized and untreated sleep disturbances. Fig, 1 summarizes a conceptual framework for the relationship between sleep disturbances and health outcomes that can occur at any stage of the human lifespan. The UW-CRMSD will address the multi-factorial (e.g., genetics, environment, age/development) nature of sleep disturbances as well as support the development of interventions to improve sleep quality that take Into account important contributing factors such as age, developmental transitions, and chronic illness (Fig. 1).1 Overall Center Goals. 1) Develop and maintain an infrastructure that supports and sustains translational research to improve sleep quality across the lifespan;2) Provide administrative, financial, technical, &scholarly support to Project & Pilot studies;3) Enhance &maintain strong interdisciplinary partnerships among researchers to promote the translation of research findings into practice;4) Refine existing and develop new protocols for 'state of the art'reliable, precise, and cost-effective methods needed to support new and ongoing methods for developmentally and age-appropriate self-report (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS] measures), behavioral (actigraphy), and physiologic sleep (PSG) measures;5) Create a repository for pilot and future genetic marker studies;6) Increase the diversity of investigators interested in pursuing research related to sleep disturbances Key components of this application include: [unreadable] Focus on sleep disturbances across the lifespan in persons with chronic illness. Developmentally and agesensitive tools will be used with children (Ward), adults (Watson), and older adults (Taibi, Thompson). [unreadable] 2 Cores which will provide infrastructure support for the four Projects and Pilot grants. [unreadable] 4 research Projects that utilize electronic data collection, PROMIS measures, and biobehavioral markers [unreadable] Quality mentorship ofthe Project, Pilot, and Affiliate Investigators [unreadable] UW support for Center sustainability through provision of funds supporting a pilot/small grants program critical to the sustainability of translational research to manage sleep disturbances. [unreadable] The CRMSD builds on the Center for Women's Health &Gender Research (NINR funded 1989-2009) &the Institute for Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) which created the initial infrastructure, community outreach, and collegial atmosphere that set the stage for this new, focused area of symptom research.