Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public

Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11617.html
276 SLEEP DISORDERS AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION
gram (P), and cooperative (U) activities sponsored by the NIH, the CDC,
and Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, Department of
Labor, and other relevant federal agencies. This committee also believes
that the Center for Scientific Review should gather basic keyword information
on submitted grants and reviewers to address adequacy of review expertise
on review panels. This information would be helpful to the NIH at
large and to the NCSDR as it develops a more proactive research plan.
Although the success of an RFA is dependent on the number and quality
of grant applications, this analysis demonstrates the value an RFA may have
in expanding interest and awareness in specific areas of a field. Therefore,
this committee recommends that the NCSDR Advisory Board use their annual
analysis to identify priority research and training areas and annually
recommend an RFA to appropriate advisory councils of the Trans-NIH Sleep
Coordinating Committee and other federal agencies including the CDC.
NEXT STEPS IN ACCELERATING PROGRESS
Given the multiple and varied sources of federal and private funding and
support for the field and the numerous disciplines involved in research and
clinical care, the challenge for the field of sleep medicine is to develop a collaborative
and focused approach with a strong research infrastructure. To
bolster clinical and basic research efforts, catalyze collaborative research efforts,
and attract the breadth of talented researchers who will be able to move
somnology and sleep disorders research and clinical care forward to achieve
the therapeutic solutions requires a coordinated and integrated strategy.
Strengthen the NCSDR and Its Advisory Board
It is an opportune time for coordination of sleep-related activities
throughout the federal government. The NCSDR and its advisory board
should take the lead in reinvigorating a coordinated strategy. To assist in
this coordination, annually the directors of the NCSDR and the NCSDR
Advisory Board should meet with all institute directors who are members of
the Trans-NIH Sleep Coordinating Committee and directors of other relevant
federal agencies. Further, institutes at the NIH that manage a large
sleep-related portfolio should be encouraged to appoint appropriate representatives
of the field of Somnology and Sleep Medicine to their advisory
councils and program project review committees.
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