Young Indigenous people in Mt Isa will be taught about the mental health benefits of a good night’s sleep as part of a nation-leading program developed by The University of Queensland.
Australia’s first ever Indigenous sleep coaches, Karen Chong and Jamie Dunne from Mt Isa, will work with 120 local youth on sleep education, sleep health coaching and narrative therapy as part of UQ’s Let’s Yarn About Sleep program (LYAS).
Launched last year by the Institute for Social Science Research, Senior Research Fellow Dr Yaqoot Fatima said the program was an Australian first that promotes sleep health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by integrating traditional knowledge with Western sleep science.
“The LYAS program provides holistic, inclusive and responsive solutions to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents’ understanding of sleep and empowers them to embrace sleep health,” Dr Fatima said.
“Evidence shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety at much higher levels than non-Indigenous Australians, and the benefits of sleep to improve health and wellbeing in adolescents remains untapped.
“This could be attributed to the lack of sleep health programs aligned with Indigenous peoples’ health and wellbeing knowledge, along with a lack of skilled coaches to deliver culturally appropriate care.
“That is what our program is about – to help bridge the gap and provide sleep health equity by training Indigenous youth workers to become sleep coaches who can then provide specialist services in remote communities,” she said.
The training program integrates Indigenous knowledge and understanding of sleep health with Western knowledge of sleep science, and was developed in consultation with service providers and the local community.
In his previous role as a youth worker, Mr Dunne was working with vulnerable youth in the community. Now as a sleep coach, Mr Dunne said the training he received was invaluable.
“Sleep is so important for our overall wellbeing, and I’m so happy to be a part of something that will help our children have the best future possible,” he said.
Part of the training has involved objective data collection for sleep, using actigraphy watches, and this will help the Sleep Coaches to record sleep health and Mount Isa youth to get a deeper understanding of common sleep issues experienced by young people in the community.
“This has been eye-opening and shows that some young people aren’t getting the recommended amount of sleep every night and this is why an educational program like this is vital for communities.”
Fellow sleep coach Ms Chong said they would be educating Mt Isa youth about the science behind sleep while also incorporating traditional knowledge.
The integration of two worldviews will ensure that the sleep health promotion program is evidence based and responsive to the cultural and contextual needs of young people in Mount Isa.
“Most people know sleep is good for you, but they don’t understand just how important it is, and the health benefits that it has,” Ms Chong said.
“To help educate young people, we will travel with them to the bush, or other places they suggest, and use traditional activities like weaving and painting to reinforce education about sleep.”
LYAS program cultural mentor Roslyn Von Senden said sleep played an important part in Aboriginal culture because of Dreamtime.
“This program brings the vital elements together – the creativity of Aboriginal culture, and the way art, singing and dancing is used to express knowledge, with the science of sleep,” Ms Von Senden said.
Given the project’s success in Mt Isa, the team hopes to expand to six other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in remote Queensland, and eventually interstate.
The program is funded by a Medical Research Future Fund-Indigenous Health Grant and involves collaborators from La Trobe University, University of Western Australia, Flinders University, Central Queensland University, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, James Cook University and Young People Ahead Mount Isa.
