Sleep disorders affect millions of adults, yet specialized treatment remains frustratingly inaccessible due to lengthy wait times and limited clinic availability. This gap between need and access has prompted researchers to develop nurse-delivered sleep care models in primary care settings, which have shown clinical effectiveness but remain largely unused in routine practice.
A comprehensive systematic review examining 85 studies identified critical implementation barriers preventing the translation of effective nurse-delivered chronic disease models into everyday general practice. The analysis mapped obstacles across multiple domains using established implementation frameworks, revealing patterns that consistently impede the adoption of nurse-led care models for conditions like obstructive sleep apnea and chronic insomnia. The research specifically targeted general practice settings, where most patients first seek help for sleep problems.
This implementation gap represents a significant missed opportunity in sleep medicine. While evidence supports nurse-delivered interventions for sleep disorders as both clinically effective and cost-efficient, the translation from research to routine care faces systematic barriers that transcend individual practices or conditions. The findings suggest that successful implementation requires addressing multiple interconnected factors simultaneously rather than tackling isolated obstacles. For adults struggling with sleep disorders, this research highlights why proven treatments remain difficult to access despite their demonstrated benefits. The work provides a roadmap for healthcare systems seeking to bridge the evidence-practice gap in sleep medicine, potentially transforming how chronic sleep conditions are managed in primary care settings where most patients initially present.