A cross-continental collaboration improves access to pediatric sleep health diagnosis and therapy in India.

By Sree Roy

Don’t underestimate the power of a few dedicated sleep physicians to exponentially improve the sleep health of an entire population.

A cross-continental collaboration between Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colo, and pediatric pulmonologist-sleep physician Bharath Reddy, MD, in Bengaluru, India, has increased the number of pediatric sleep-aware healthcare professionals in India from the woefully inadequate single digits to more than 150 throughout the South Asian country.

This was accomplished through a new Diploma of Pediatric Sleep Medicine offering, a hybrid online and in-person program that has so far trained five cohorts of healthcare professionals and demonstrated the impact of sharing US expertise across borders.

Just a few years ago, children and their parents would travel for hours or days by train from other Indian cities and villages to Bengaluru to have their sleep problems diagnosed or start on CPAP therapy, says Reddy, CEO of Shishuka Children’s Specialty Hospital in Bengaluru and co-director of the pediatric diploma program. “Now, a patient can call us from most places in India, and we can refer them to someone nearby,” Reddy says.

Trainees in the six-month Diploma of Pediatric Sleep Medicine program range from pediatricians to adult-focused pulmonologists to otolaryngologists to psychiatrists to dentists. Sleep professionals from Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado present weekly webinars to the trainees, after which the India and Colorado providers meet in person in Bengaluru for a two-day hands-on seminar.

Since the program’s start, about 30% of graduates have opened pediatric sleep centers, and about 50% have educated others, at venues like medical conferences, about the importance of pediatric sleep health. This is a huge change in a country where, up until a few years ago, even major metropolitan areas such as Delhi and Kolkatta didn’t have pediatric sleep centers.

“These new pediatric-focused sleep labs can perform a whole factor more sleep studies on children who need it than before,” says Stephen M. M. Hawkins, MD, associate program director of the sleep fellowship program at Children’s Hospital Colorado and co-director of the diploma program with Reddy. “It’s not exaggerating to say we’ve provided better access to pediatric sleep care and a network of providers who are more comfortable, if not confident, in providing pediatric sleep care.”

Hawkins, who volunteers his time to the program, says the diploma has brought Children’s Hospital Colorado clout and recognition. “It was an opportunity to show what we have to offer and say, ‘Look what we share,’” he says. “So much of it is about sharing the education and the emphasis on high-quality patient care.”

Through word of mouth, the training has been shared beyond India’s borders. Healthcare providers from Nepal and the United Arab Emirates have graduated from the program.

“We’re in the process of documenting the significant change that has happened,” Reddy says. “The ball started rolling faster than I expected.”