Harnessing the Power of Integrated Behavioral Health to Enhance Insomnia Intervention in Primary Care

Insomnia is prevalent in primary care and associated with co-morbid physical and mental health conditions and poor health outcomes. While there are effective treatments for insomnia in specialty mental health care, many patients have difficulty accessing these interventions. To begin, patients do not always report their sleep challenges to physicians; meanwhile, primary care providers often do not screen for insomnia symptoms. Furthermore, patients may experience several barriers to accessing specialty care for insomnia treatment, such as a limited number of available providers, financial burden, lack of transportation, and low perceptions of treatment effectiveness. Primary care behavioral health (PCBH) is well-equipped to address the challenges of accessing evidence-based care for insomnia through (1) identifying sleep issues, (2) providing psychoeducation on the possible treatments for insomnia, (3) intervening with poor sleep habits and acute insomnia early to prevent chronic insomnia, and (4) delivering appropriate evidence-based interventions for chronic insomnia. Primary care clinics should leverage behavioral health providers to increase screening and embed interventions into routine care for the benefit of improved outcomes for patients with insomnia and other sleep challenges.