Sleep health and its implications in First Nation Australians: A systematic review

• Published in: The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific
• Main Authors: Blunden, Sarah, Yiallourou, Stephanie, Fatima, Yaqoot
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Lancet Publishing Group 2022
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/74562/1/74562.pdf

Understanding the state of sleep health in First Nations Australians offers timely insight into intervention and management opportunities to improve overall health and well-being. This review explored the determinants and burden of poor sleep in First Nations Australians. A systematic search was conducted to identify studies published until August 2020 in First Nations Australian adults. Nine studies (n = 2640) were included, three in community settings, six in clinical populations. Across studies compared with non-Indigenous people, 15–34% of First Nations Australians experience less than recommended hours (<7 h/night), 22% reported fragmented, irregular, and unrefreshing sleep with a high prevalence of OSA in clinical populations (39-46%). Findings show First Nations Australians are significantly more likely to report worse sleep health than Non-Indigenous Australians in all measured domains of sleep. Co-designed sleep programs and service delivery solutions are necessary to ensure timely prevention and management of sleep issues in First Nations communities which to date have been underserved. Funding: No external funding was provided for this work.