A Pan-Canadian Practice Guideline: Prevention, Screening, Assessment and Treatment of Sleep Disturbances in Adults with Cancer

Guideline Objective

To inform Canadian health authorities, program leaders, administrators and healthcare providers about the optimal strategies and interventions for the prevention, screening, assessment and management of cancer-related sleep disturbances (insomnia and chronic insomnia) in adult cancer populations. Initial screening for sleep disturbances can be done using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System Revised (ESAS-r) and the Canadian Problem Checklist.

Intended Guideline Users

Professional healthcare providers engaged in the care of adults with cancer.

It is also intended to support Canadian health authorities, program leaders and administrators in developing policies and procedures related to survivorship care for individuals with cancer. The guideline is interprofessional in focus, and the recommendations are applicable to direct care providers (e.g., nurses, social workers and family practitioners) in diverse care settings. The scope of practice for different professions may vary according to governmental or professional regulatory standards, and users of this guideline are expected to exercise skill and judgement to determine if the application of the recommendations is within their scope of practice. It is not the intent of this guideline to make recommendations for specialist practitioners (i.e., respirologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and sleep medicine experts). Depending on the factors associated with the sleep disturbance, additional guidance documents should be accessed for further information on specific conditions (e.g., fatigue, pain or depression guidelines). Users may wish to adapt this guideline to fit their local healthcare processes, resources and context as part of knowledge translation and evidence implementation.