A scoping review of approaches used to educate primary care providers to manage sleep disorders

Introduction
The referral burden on healthcare systems for routine sleep disorders could be alleviated by equipping primary care providers (PCPs) with the knowledge and skills to diagnose, treat and manage patients who experience sleep health issues.
Methods
The aim of this scoping review was to examine the literature relating to the pedagogical approaches used to educate PCPs in sleep health management. Using a comprehensive search across eight databases, 613 citations were identified. After selection criteria were applied, 29 citations were included in the review.
Results
Didactic teaching approaches predominated (62%), with experiential learning the next most common approach (48%). Most of this literature was produced in the United States (72%). Citations spanned 38 years, with the majority published between 2009 and 2016. Assessment of the educational effectiveness of interventions occurred in 76% of citations, most commonly via a pre‐/post‐test questionnaire.
Discussion
While this scoping review has utility in describing pedagogical approaches used to educate PCPs to manage sleep disorders, it demonstrates that health professions education literature remains largely overlooked in designing such educational programs. In this literature, it is advised to teach more complex abilities by a series of experiences of gradually increasing complexity with continual linking to the underlying knowledge and concepts through repetitive feedback on action and reflection in and on action. As for evaluation of effectiveness, real case‐based assessment performance is superior to self‐assessment questionnaires.