Qualitative Assessment of the Work-Sleep Relationship

OBJECTIVE: Prior research has documented racial differences in sleep health by occupational class. While increasing professional responsibility has been associated with shorter sleep duration among non-Hispanic Blacks, increasing professional responsibility appears to be associated with a lower prevalence of short sleep duration among non-Hispanic Whites. The objective of the present study is to investigate reasons for these racial differences in the work-sleep relationship. STUDY POPULATION: The study population will range between a minimum of 238 and a maximum of 408 focus groups participants (7-12 members acceptable per focus group). All non-Hispanic black and white adults 25 years of age or older who are currently working at least 38 hours a week will be eligible for inclusion in the study. To mitigate the influence of known cultural differences in sleep behaviors, participation will be limited to English speakers born in the continental United Sates. DESIGN: We will conduct 34 demographically homogenous focus groups consisting of 7-12 participants each. Focus groups will be stratified based race, sex, and occupational class, and will be conducted in both North Carolina and the metropolitan DC area. Focus groups will take place in-person and be conducted by a trained facilitator according to a scripted, semi-structured focus group guide. Audio recordings of the focus groups will be transcribed verbatim by a professional transcription service. De-identified transcripts will be reviewed by the study team to identify qualitative themes in the data, which will be coded in an appropriate software program using a double-coding process. Qualitative data analysis will be conducted to identify potential reasons for racial differences in sleep health by occupational class. We will additionally assess variation by other sociodemographic determinants, including sex, education, income, and geographic region. OUTCOMES MEASURES: Outcome measures include the themes/patterns regarding potential system-level influences, beliefs, and behaviors that may explain racial differences in the association between occupational class and sleep health.