Insomnia and Aging Study
Treatments for Insomnia: Mediators, Moderators, and Quality of Life
Research study conducted at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital
Skills: teamwork, recruiting, interviewing, data visualization, presenting, abstract writing
The Problem
How might we tailor a non-drug treatment to help older adults with their insomnia?
Use of sleeping pills can lead to cognitive impairment and risk of falls, especially for older adults.
To address this issue, we sought to better understand the non-drug treatment, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), and its efficacy in an older population.
Study Objective
Compare three non-drug treatments for insomnia in older adults to determine which aspects of CBT-I are most efficacious and for whom.
My Role
Research Assistant
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Clinically interviewed, managed, & equipped 20+ participants/mo for overnight sleep studies
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Presented screening session results at weekly team meetings
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Overhauled training materials and trained 3 research assistants in sleep study protocols and clinical interviewing
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Designed recruitment materials/strategies & recruited 100+ participants over 2.5 years
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Presented research & published 3 abstracts at annual professional research conference
Participants
Adults ages 60 and older with insomnia complaints
The Team
Primary Investigator: Dr Jerome Yesagave
Co-PIs: Dr. Leah Friedman & Dr. Andrea-Goldstein-Piekarski
Clinician: Dr. Donn Posner
Physician: Dr. Clete Kushida
Research assistants: Alison Buchanan, Clara Lee
Experimental Design
Three treatments (CBT-I, CT, and BT) will be compared in a randomized clinical trial with a parallel groups design (data analysis currently in progress).
Data was collected prior to the beginning of treatment, after 6 weeks of treatment, at a 6-month follow-up visit, and one year after completion of treatment.
Analysis in progress...