I became a speaker for the Sleep Health Foundation in 2015 and have really enjoyed the experience. It has given me the opportunity to promote sleep health to a wide range of different audiences. I have found that people are always really interested in learning about how to sleep well and often quite surprised at how many aspects of general health are affected by your sleep. As a paediatric specialist this experience has allowed me to keep up to date with adult literature whilst also raising awareness of some of the important areas in my own field, such as the impact of inadequate sleep on adolescents. Recently I have been asked to help with the development of an online education module for a company and have recorded some presentations about different aspects of sleep health for this purpose. This was something totally different to do compared to daily clinical work and was a great way to learn new presentation skills. I would really encourage people to consider joining the SHF speaker program - it gives you the chance to promote sleep health in a completely different forum to normal but also helps you gain personally - you meet some really lovely people who are enthusiastic and really interested in what you have to tell them.
Dr Jasneek Chawla
Dr Chawla is a Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Physician at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, Brisbane and an MPhil candidate with the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland. This scholarship will be used to undertake a longitudinal study evaluating the impact of clinical interventions for common sleep disorders in children with Down syndrome. This research aims to understand whether functional, behavioural and developmental outcomes are improved following treatment of sleep conditions in children with Down syndrome, providing evidence to direct clinical management in this population.