O007 Sleep health promotion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: untapped potential of Indigenous youth workers as sleep coaches

PURPOSE: The lack of culturally appropriate sleep health programs and community-led support services are significant barriers to sleep health promotion in Indigenous communities. This project offers Australia’s first-ever training and upskilling program for Indigenous youth workers (IYWs) to work as “Sleep Coaches” in Indigenous communities. METHODS: Key stakeholders, i.e., community elders, service providers, Indigenous youth and sleep scientists, were consulted to develop a training program for IYWs. Stakeholder consultations ensured community ownership of the program, facilitated co-design of educational and training activities, and integrated traditional and scientific sleep health knowledge for developing sleep health resources. RESULTS: Consultations with the advisory group (n=48) identified the need for a multipronged approach for IYWs capacity building. The education and training activities are centred around sleep and include cultural training to cover Indigenous Australians’ understanding and interpretation of sleep health, youth mental health first aid training, and participation in youth alcohol and drug education workshops. For sleep education, two blocks of activities, i.e., foundation and advanced level, are offered to cover triaging, sleep education/support and monitoring. An interactive tool for diabetes education in Indigenous communities (FeltMan/FeltMum) has been adapted to offer culturally appropriate sleep education. CONCLUSION: IYWs’ capacity building as sleep coaches is an innovative way to empower Indigenous communities to embrace sleep health. Going forward, the program will engage with youth mental health services to evaluate the program effectiveness and transferability to other Indigenous communities. There is a need to define the scope of practice and certification to ensure compliance with industry standards.