Primary care grant programs
The ASA is coordinating two Commonwealth-funded programs to improve the management of sleep health and sleep disorders in primary health care settings in Australia.
The two programs focus on general practitioners, psychologists, primary care nurses and pharmacists. They include developing clinical tools and patient information resources to help these important community health care practitioners promote better sleep health with their patients and effectively address sleep problems.
Sleep health problems and sleep disorders are common in the Australian community and untreated sleep problems result in substantial mental, physical, and economic consequences.
Australians regularly discuss their sleep problems with their primary health care practitioners, who have a leading role in promoting better sleep health and managing sleep problems in patients. So it’s critical that primary care clinicians have access to evidence-based information, resources, diagnostics, treatments, and referral options for sleep health problems. The ASA’s two grant programs are working to help realise the ASA’s vision of “A community with healthy sleep practices, supported by best-practice sleep science and sleep medicine”.
The Health Peak and Advisory Bodies grant led by Senior Program Manager, Dr Alexander Sweetman, is aligned with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia, and the National Preventive Health Strategy and builds on foundational work of the National Centre for Sleep Health Services Research at Flinders University. The ASA is working closely with association members, peak professional organisations for GPs, nurses, and psychologists, and primary care education outreach and education organisations to develop and promote evidence-based sleep health resources for use in clinical practice. There are also some activities that support the provision of expert advice to government agencies, and the association’s policy, advocacy and member communication activities. An overview of activities from the first 12 months of this grant program can be viewed here . This grant program runs from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2025.
The Quality Use of Medicines for Insomnia and Sleep Health (QUMISH) grant, led by Project Manager and pharmacist, Stacey Putland, is developing and implementing an education and training program for Australian pharmacists on the management of insomnia and sleep health. The program includes an assessment of consumer needs, expectations and experiences and a series of education articles, workshops, webinars, events, and resources for pharmacists. The QUMISH program is led by the ASA in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia , Sleep Health Foundation, and University of Sydney.
A diverse Stakeholder Group including clinicians, consumers, and researchers is informing the development and implementation of interventions and education resources throughout the QUMISH program. This grant program runs from September 2023 – August 2025.