Seed Grant Award: Sleep Center of Excellence - Special Seminar Series on Discrimination, Social Injustice, and Sleep

Session - Stress and Sleep: Supporting Healthy Sleep in Our Communities
October 5, 2021 | 6:30 - 7:30 PM EST

Program Description:
The Columbia University Irving Medical Center Sleep Center of Excellence 2021 Community Sleep Education Forum featured a series of sleep health talks and workshops that aim to: 

1) Raise awareness of the importance of sleep for overall health 
2) Promote sleep health as a social justice issue 
3) Encourage community members to engage in sleep disorder screenings

Our first session featured a brief presentation by three Columbia sleep health experts and focused on stress and sleep. We also discussed recommendations for healthful sleep for the entire family, including treatment options for those with sleep disorders or poor sleep. 

The presentation was followed by live question and answer from our audience. This event was funded by an Addressing Racism Seed Grant from the Columbia University Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development. Separate registrations was required for each event. 

Sesión - El Estrés y el Sueño: Promoviendo el Sueño Saludable en Nuestras Comunidades
Octubre 5, 2021 | 6:30 - 7:30 PM EST

Descripción del Programa: 
El Foro Comunitario de Educación sobre el Sueño del 2021 presentado por Columbia University Irving Medical Center Sleep Center of Excellence incluirá una serie de charlas y talleres sobre el sueño y la salud que tienen como objetivos: 

1)    Incrementar el conocimiento de la importancia del sueño para la salud 
2)    Promover el sueño saludable como un asunto de la justicia social 
3)    Animar a los miembros de la comunidad a participar en revisiones de trastornos de sueño 

En nuestra primera sesión tendria una presentación breve realizada por tres expertos del sueño y la salud de Columbia University quienes hablaron sobre el estrés y el sueño. También habrá una presentación sobre recomendaciones para dormir de forma saludable para toda la familia, incluyendo opciones de tratamientos para aquellos con trastornos de sueño o sueño de mala calidad. 

Después de la presentación se abrio la sesión de preguntas y respuestas en vivo de nuestra audiencia. Este evento es financiado por la beca Addressing Racism Seed Grant de Columbia University Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development. Se requirieron inscripciones separadas para cada evento. 

Presenters // Presentadores: 
Marwah Abdalla, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Carmela Alcántara, PhD, Associate Professor, Columbia School of Social Work
Rachel J. Richins, ANP-BC, Adult Nurse Practitioner, Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy and Sleep Center
 

Grant Description:

Health disparities between whites and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are pervasive. Racism is a pernicious social determinant of health, including sleep health. Importantly, decrements in sleep health have been shown to contribute to the leading causes of death in BIPOC, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and psychiatric illness. Population-based surveys have demonstrated disparities in sleep duration, sleep quality, and sleep and circadian disorders by race and ethnicity. Emerging research suggests that structural level factors including systemic racism, discrimination, neighborhood/environmental racism, and socioeconomic position contribute to these sleep health disparities. In light of the historical and ongoing crisis of systemic racism in the USA and globally, the current COVID-19 pandemic, the growing acknowledgment of sleep health as a public health priority, and our collective responsibility as sleep health professionals, educators, and scientists, to address the effects of racism on BIPOC communities, we have launched the CUIMC Sleep Center of Excellence Special Seminar Series on Discrimination, Social Injustice, and Sleep, and were proposing to design a Community Sleep Education Forum. 

The goal of the Special Seminar Series on Discrimination, Social Injustice, and Sleep is to educate the sleep and circadian rhythms research and clinical community on ways in which social context, including discrimination, injustice, and implicit and explicit biases, influence sleep and circadian health to impact chronic disease risk burden among BIPOC. The objectives are to raise awareness to these issues via a series of seminar lectures by national leaders in this field, stimulate discussions among members of varying backgrounds, and encourage cross-disciplinary research via meetings between investigators and guest speakers. We intended for the series to inspire early career investigators to train in this field of research and encourage the development of grant applications between investigators and clinicians across the university. 

The goal of the Community Sleep Education Forum was to educate policy makers and members of the broader community on ways in which social context, including discrimination, injustice, and implicit and explicit biases, influence sleep and circadian health to impact chronic disease risk burden among BIPOC. The objectives were to raise awareness to these issues via a community forum engaging scientists, health professionals, community leaders, patients, and policy makers that will be open to the public. We intended for this open discussion to inspire solutions to the current climate that permits sleep health disparities. 

This project was funded through the Addressing Racism: A Call to Action for Higher Education initiative of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement.