Advancing sleep medicine, research, and awareness at Penn Nursing
Nurse leaders from Penn’s School of Nursing are redefining care for barriers to sleep, bringing science, innovation, and empathy to restless patients everywhere.
2 min. read
Every time Terri Weaver is in for a primary care visit, there’s one intake question that makes her chuckle: How many hours a night do you sleep? In 1991, Weaver—a Penn School of Nursing emerita professor—was asked by Allan Pack to join him as he launched the first interdisciplinary sleep center in the U.S. at Penn.
She went on to develop the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, which became the gold standard globally for assessing the impact of sleep on daily behaviors. She mentored nurse fellows and found sponsorship for a gathering of nurses at the annual meeting hosted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society. One of her numerous mentees, professor of sleep and health behavior Amy Sawyer, leads that nursing group today.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is still the gold standard for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults, with a machine feeding pressurized air into a mask to keep a person’s airway open and prevent pauses in breathing. However, even though the treatment has improved, getting less obtrusive, Sawyer says there are still many roadblocks to consistent, effective use. Many uncomfortable patients give up on the therapy. Changing to a new mask can sometimes help, but that is costly and insurance companies limit the number of masks they’ll cover. Sawyer’s work centers on behavioral changes and getting users to work through CPAP challenges independently.
Other Penn Nursing researchers are leading studies of non-pharmaceutical alternatives for those who have insomnia, many of whom experience poor sleep as a symptom of other diseases or disorders. More than half of children with autism spectrum disorder, for example, experience sleep problems. Insomnia is also an issue for another vulnerable population: adults living with dementia.
Amid growing public awareness, Penn Nursing is committed to advancing sleep medicine by supporting nurse researchers with the latest scientific tools and educating students about sleep disorders and interventions.
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