While half of all adults in Canada have trouble sleeping, research shows that racial discrimination can make sleep disorders worse among certain groups, including Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities. Amy Shawanda, PhD, a recently appointed Assistant Professor and Indigenous Scholar at the Department of Family Medicine, is part of a team, led by Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, PhD, at the University of British Columbia, who has been awarded $1.1M in research funding by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to promote sleep health. Professor Shawanda is the Indigenous Theme Lead for the project entitled 鈥淭owards Sleep Equity: Understanding and Addressing Intersectional Risk and Resilience Factors in the Promotion of Healthy Sleep鈥�, as submitted to the CIHR Sleep Research Consortium 鈥� Team Grant.
The team will examine ways in which sleep can be linked to both strengths and challenges in people鈥檚 lives, and the family and community strengths that help in improving sleep as well as underlying factors which impact sleep. They will prioritize equity as it relates to insomnia, sleep health, and public health interventions. They will study how people鈥檚 identities, location, and access to services affect their quality of sleep, and what factors protect and improve sleep. The team will also collaborate closely with people who have experienced sleep inequities, including Indigenous communities, to answer important questions about sleep.
鈥淕ood sleep is an essential building block for healthy living. When we think about inequities, we often don鈥檛 consider that not everyone has equal access to safe, quiet, calm environments that promote good sleep. Some people also experience more stressors that can negatively impact their mental health and sleep quality. With this investment in funds, our interdisciplinary team, composed of researchers, students and community partners, will better understand these factors. We look forward to sharing the new knowledge and insights with all Canadians to advance sleep health equity on a national scale.鈥�
Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia
Congratulations to the whole team!
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