SEPAC: Providing Sleep Education to Predominantly Black/African American Congregations

2023 Community Sleep Health and Public Awareness Grant

GLENNA BREWSTER, PHD, RN, FNP-BC
EMORY UNIVERSITY

Key Project Outcomes

This project developed and delivered The ABCs of Zzzz, a community-based sleep education program designed to improve sleep health among adults in Black/African American church communities. The program was created in close partnership with community members to ensure that it was culturally relevant, accessible, and responsive to real-world sleep concerns.

The ABCs of Zzzz was implemented in 12 Alter-affiliated churches in Georgia and reached 179 congregants. Participants attended in-person educational sessions focused on common sleep problems, including insomnia, poor sleep habits, and sleep apnea. Many participants reported long-standing sleep difficulties at the start of the program, highlighting the need for sleep education and support in these community settings.

Following the educational sessions, participants reported improvements in sleep habits, insomnia symptoms, sleep-related beliefs, and overall sleep quality. Although the program was educational in nature, the consistent direction of improvement across sleep outcomes suggests that increasing sleep knowledge and awareness can positively influence sleep health at the community level.

The project also identified important challenges related to sleep apnea care. While some participants reported being prescribed CPAP therapy, many were not regularly using their devices, underscoring the need for additional education and behavioral support to help individuals follow through with recommended treatments.

Overall, the project demonstrated that faith-based, community-engaged sleep education is both feasible and well received. Participants expressed high satisfaction with the program and strong interest in making changes to improve their sleep. These findings provide important guidance for future efforts to expand sleep education, strengthen behavioral supports, and reduce sleep health disparities in communities with limited access to sleep health resources.