News and Events

Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Management in Primary Care Settings

Along with Continuing Nursing Education (CNE), CRMSD is co-sponsoring an all day workshop on October 2nd on sleep disordered breathing. Please see the CNE website for more details or download a brochure.

Presentation by Gianlucca Ficca, PhD

Dr. Ficca is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Second University of Naples in Caserta, Italy. He will deliver a talk entitled “Reorganizing Disorganized Sleep: A Possible Role For Pre-Sleep Cognitive Training” on Friday, June 11th at 4:00 PM at Health Sciences T-Wing, 6th Floor, Room T661.

Presentation by Professor Michael V. Vitiello, PhD

Dr. Vitiello is Professor in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Co-Director of the Center for Research on Management of Sleep Disturbances. He will deliver a talk entitled “Recent Advances in the Effective Treatment of Insomnia in Older Adults” on Friday, April 9th, 4:00-5:30 PM at Health Sciences T-Wing, 6th Floor, Room T661.

slides (.pdf)

Presentation by Dr. Sunao Uchida, MD PhD

Dr. Uchida is visiting the University of Washington from Waseda University in Japan. There, he is Director of the Future Institute for Sport Sciences and is a certified physician of sleep medicine, JSSR; certified physician of sports medicine, JASA; and certified psychiatrist, JSPN. He will deliver a talk entitled "Chronobiological Conditioning of Athletes for Improving Morning Performance" on Monday, March 8th, 4:00-5:30 PM at Health Sciences T-Wing, 6th Floor, Room T653.

Presentation by James M. Krueger, Ph.D.

Dr. Krueger received his BS degree from the University of Wisconsin, his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, his honorary MD from the University of Szeged, and his postdoctoral work was at Harvard Medical School. He is currently a Regents Professor at Washington State University. Dr. Krueger will discuss his theory of how the brain is organized to produce sleep, the responsible molecular mechanisms, and how it keeps track of past waking activity and translates it into sleep. His talk is entitled "The ATP-Cytokine-Adenosine Hypothesis for Sleep Regulation and Brain Organization of Sleep" and it will be delivered on Wednesday, March 3rd, 12:00-1:00 PM at Health Sciences Hogness Auditorium (A-420).

Visit of Dr. Terri Weaver

Terri E. Weaver, PhD, FAAN, RN, External Scientific Advisory Committee member for CRMSD, will be in Seattle January 4th - 6th, 2010. Dr. Weaver is Professor in Nursing Science and Chair of the Division of Biobehavioral and Health Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. She will deliver a talk entitled “Strategies for Promoting Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Use In The Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea” on Tuesday, January 5th at noon in Harborview Medical Center West Hospital Wing, 3rd Floor, Room 108.

Dr. Weaver is recognized nationally and internationally for her research on the effect of daytime sleepiness on daily behaviors and assessment of treatment outcomes. Dr. Weaver has produced two notable disease specific functional status measures, one for chronic pulmonary disorders and the other for sleep disorders. Her program of research centers on treatment adherence, analysis of treatment efficacy for obstructive sleep apnea, and mechanisms and outcomes of daytime sleepiness.

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PROMIS Measures

Studies funded through the CRMSD will include PROMIS instruments measuring sleep and wake disturbance, fatigue, depression, pain impact, and global health. PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) is a national resource funded by NIH for the development and implementation of accurate and efficient measurement of symptoms and health outcomes based on WHO’s framework of physical, mental, and social health. Six research sites and a statistical coordinating center comprise the PROMIS network which has worked extensively to develop publically available computerized adaptive tests (CAT) assessing common patient outcomes. The University of Washington is one of the PROMIS sites. Detailed information regarding the PROMIS network and instrument development is available on line at http://www.nihpromis.org/default.aspx.
Work of the PROMIS network has centered on development of test items with particular emphasis on psychometrics and item performance. Formulation of measurement scales involves distilling multiple existing measures into brief, limited item assessments with documented measurement characteristics. Instruments have been broadly tested among diverse samples. In addition to the instruments that will be used in CRMSD studies (listed above) additional instruments in the PROMIS address anger, anxiety, pain behavior, physical function, and satisfaction with social activities and social roles.
PROMIS, an outgrowth of the NIH Roadmap, is an initiative to improve the toolbox of health researchers. The PROMIS instruments offer an excellent opportunity to collect comparable data across the breadth of projects supported by CRMSD. Pooled data from the projects will be accessible to additional researchers through data sharing. Additionally data collected from the PROMIS instruments can be evaluated in light of findings from nationwide studies using the same instrumentation. The CRMSD will serve as a focal point promoting usage of this national resource.