Treating insomnia in people who are incarcerated: a feasibility study of a multicomponent treatment pathway

Lindsay H Dewa; Bethan Thibaut; Natalie Pattison; Sean James Campbell; Thomas Woodcock; Paul Aylin; Stephanie Archer

doi:10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae003

Treating insomnia in people who are incarcerated: a feasibility study of a multicomponent treatment pathway

Sleep Adv. 2024 Jan 20;5(1):zpae003. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae003. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Lindsay H Dewa¹, Bethan Thibaut¹, Natalie Pattison², Sean James Campbell³, Thomas Woodcock¹, Paul Aylin¹, Stephanie Archer⁴

Affiliations

¹ Imperial College London, School of Public Health, London, UK.
² Care UK, Health in Justice, London, UK.
³ User Voice, London, UK.
⁴ University of Cambridge, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, UK.

Abstract

Around 60% of people who are incarcerated have insomnia; 6-10 times more prevalent than the general population. Yet, there is no standardized, evidence-based approach to insomnia treatment in prison. We assessed the feasibility of a treatment pathway for insomnia in a high-secure prison to inform a future randomized controlled trial (RCT) and initial efficacy data for sleep and mental health outcomes. We used a within-participants pre-post design. The stepped-care pathway included: self-management with peer support, environmental aids, and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi). Assessment measures for insomnia, well-being, mood, anxiety, suicidality, overall health, sleepiness, fatigue, and cognitive functioning were administered at baseline and pathway exit. Feasibility criteria included eligibility to participate, CBTi uptake, and assessment completion. Forty-two adult males who are incarcerated were approached of which 95.2% were eligible. Of those deemed eligible, most participated (36/40, 90.0%). Most who completed baseline completed post-assessments (28/36, 77.8%) and of these, most showed improvements in their subjective sleep (27/28, 96.4%). Large reductions were found from pre- to posttreatment in insomnia severity (d = -1.81, 95% CI: 8.3 to 12.9) and 57.0% reported no clinically significant insomnia symptoms at post-assessment. There was no overall change in actigraphy-measured sleep. Large treatment benefits were found for depression, anxiety, well-being, and cognitive functioning, with a medium benefit on suicidal ideation. The treatment pathway for insomnia in prison was feasible and may be an effective treatment for insomnia in people who are incarcerated, with additional promising benefits for mental health. A pragmatic RCT across different prison populations is warranted. This paper is part of the Sleep and Circadian Health in the Justice System Collection.

Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy; incarceration; insomnia; non-pharmacological; peer support; prison; sleep; stepped-care; treatment pathway.