A Sleep Health Education Intervention Improves Sleep Knowledge in Social Work Students

Christine E. Spadola (), Danielle Groton, Minjaal Raval, Cassie J. Hilditch, Kerry Littlewood, Philip Baiden, Suzanne Bertisch and Eric S. Zhou
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Christine E. Spadola: School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Danielle Groton: College of Social Work and Criminal Justice, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
Minjaal Raval: School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Cassie J. Hilditch: Department of Psychology, San José State University, San José, CA 95192, USA
Kerry Littlewood: School of Social Work, The University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33776, USA
Philip Baiden: School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Suzanne Bertisch: Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Eric S. Zhou: Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Introduction: Social workers, the largest group of mental health clinicians in the United States, play a pivotal role in mental health promotion. Despite the importance of sleep for mental health, there is no empirical research on sleep education interventions for social workers. Method: We designed an online sleep health education intervention to equip social work students to promote healthy sleep practices among their clients. An interdisciplinary team of experts devised the 90 min intervention using an empirically supported behavioral change theoretical model (COM-B). The intervention discusses multi-level factors that impact sleep and emphasizes considerations for health disparities in populations commonly served by social workers (e.g., unhoused populations, clients with substance use disorders, etc.). We assessed sleep knowledge, sleep quality, and acceptability using survey and focus group data. Results: Ninety social work students (92.2% female, 38.8% non-Hispanic white) completed pre- and post-intervention assessments. Participants demonstrated significant improvements in sleep health knowledge and their personal sleep quality. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed perceived usefulness for social work practice. Conclusions: A short online sleep education intervention can improve sleep health knowledge, offering a practical method to expand social workers’ understanding of healthy sleep promotion that can be readily implemented in clinical training and practice.

Keywords: health education; sleep; sleep hygiene; sleep health; social work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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