A digital sleep improvement programme for commercial drivers: The development and feasibility of Sleepful Drive
Iuliana Hartescu, Aron P. Sherry, Stacy A. Clemes, Elizabeth Stamp, Ian M. Taylor, Kevin MorganObjective
While commercial driving is associated with high levels of disordered and inadequate sleep, sleep-related support which meets the needs of this mobile and dispersed workforce is under-developed. Our objective was to develop a digital sleep improvement programme for commercial drivers which: accommodates industry-specific occupational challenges: combines CBTI-based strategies with tailored actionable components specific to commercial driving; and is sensitive to driver sleep and performance needs.
Methods
The programme (‘Sleepful Drive’) was co-developed with drivers in iterative steps which included: semi-structured interviews with drivers and industry stakeholders; identifying and curating content from existing CBTI programmes; creating and functionality testing the digital prototype; and feasibility testing the final prototype version. Key outcomes included programme engagement and usability, with positive changes in sleep quality and sleep duration providing indicators of efficacy.
Results
Participants showed good engagement, logging in an average of 13.4 times during the 4-6 weeks of app use, and completing at least 8 of the 10 steps of the programme. Most participants (80.3%) agreed that the information contained within the app was clear, understandable and accessible to users, and that the sleep and daytime outcomes were acceptable. Efficacy indicators showed significant improvements in mean subjective sleep quality (F (1,29)=6.43, p<0.001), while mean sleep duration during the ‘working week’ increased significantly from baseline (356min; SD=64.84min) to the post intervention (382min; SD=65.88min: F (1,29)=9.40, p=0.005).
Conclusions
Our results offer strong evidence that, in a sleep challenging environment, ‘Sleepful Drive’ performed well against key indicators of feasibility in a typical group of commercial drivers.