Insomnia Patients' Help-Seeking Experiences

Abstract

Timely access to appropriate treatment is important for optimizing insomnia management. To date, little is known about insomnia patients' treatment experiences or how they access and engage with the available health care resources. This study sought to capture the help-seeking experiences and behavioral patterns of patients with insomnia who are seeking or receiving specialist care. A purposive sample of 26 insomnia patients from specialist sleep and mental health clinics located in metropolitan New South Wales, Australia was recruited. Participants completed a brief questionnaire, followed by an in-depth, semi-structured interview. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using framework analysis. Three key themes emerged from the data: patients' sleep beliefs, treatment beliefs, and accessing specialized care. The findings show that daytime symptoms arising from insomnia serve as important illness cues for patients to seek medical help. In addition, participants' treatment pathways highlight factors that prevent the widespread use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT–I), including limited awareness about CBT–I, tentative referral mechanisms, limited service providers, and the high cost of CBT–I.

Notes

²Mersyndol® is a combination product containing paracetamol 450 mg, codeine phosphate 9.75 mg, and doxylamine succinate 5 mg.

¹Adverse effects relating to parasomnias (e.g., sleep-walking, sleep-driving, and sleep-eating) became widely publicized by the Australian media in 2006 through 2007.

³Blackmores® is an Australian brand specializing in herbal and complementary medicines.

⁴Bathurst is a country town 207 km west of Sydney, Australia.

⁵This is part of an Australian government scheme (the Better Access to Mental Health Care Program) that was nationally rolled out in 2006 to extend the government subsidy for mental health services.