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esearchUnderstanding Healthcare Provider Barriers to Prescribingand Recommending Non-pharmacological SleepInterventions for Persons Diagnosed with DementiaBy CA Brown (PI) 1 , P Wielandt 1 , D M Wilson 2 , A Jones 3 , M Bullock 1 , K Crick 3(1Department of Occupational Therapy, 2 Faculty of Nursing, 3 Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)This project was completed by theSleep and Function InterdisciplinaryGroup (SAFIG) of the Faculty ofRehabilitation Medicine, University ofAlberta. This research group was ledby Dr Cary Brown, Associate Professor,Department of Occupational Therapy,Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine,University of Alberta (cary.brown@ualberta.ca). The project was fundedthrough the Addiction & Mental HealthResearch Partnership Program: AlbertaHealth Services (AHS) (http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/2770.asp).Executive SummaryFor persons with dementia (PWD),sleeping problems are oftenunrecognized and undertreated. This isa concern for two reasons: disorderedsleep may contribute to the onset oftheir dementia and a lack of restorativesleep can negatively impact the healthand functioning of both the personliving with dementia and their familycaregivers. Early identification andappropriate intervention for sleepproblems can help reduce the riskof dementia onset and/or slow theacceleration of the illness.Presently, the relationship between sleepand dementia is not well understood bymost healthcare providers and familycaregivers of PWD. Traditionally,sleep problems have been treatedwith medication, but this can cause arange of side effects. Although thereare evidence-based interventionsfor sleep disorders that are nonpharmacologicalthese interventionsare not routinely recommended knownto healthcare workers because ofa prevalent research-to-action gap.Consequently healthcare providerslack the knowledge required to makerecommendations to family membersabout pragmatic sleep interventionsfor PWD. Addressing this gap throughevidence-based knowledge translationand exchange (KTE) strategies willultimately contribute to improvedhealth and quality of life for bothPWD and their family caregivers. Inturn, optimal health and functioningare positive influences supporting thepriority goal of PWD and their familycaregivers remaining able to live safelyand with quality in their own homes.The first step in addressing thisknowledge-to-action gap is todetermine the current state of sleepassessment and intervention practiceof healthcare providers workingwith PWD. Knowing this helps laya strengths-based foundation formore targeted KTE and educationalstrategies addressing sleep problemsfor PWD. This study, Understandinghealthcare provider barriers toprescribing and recommending nonpharmacologicalsleep interventionsfor persons diagnosed with dementiagathered quantitative and qualitativesurvey data from 2,027 healthcareproviders from across Canada. Therespondents to the survey representeda wide range of professional groups>care | spring 2013 23