Sleep medicine service in Saudi Arabia. A quantitative assessment.
OBJECTIVE
To assess quantitatively sleep medicine services in Saudi Arabia (KSA) and identify obstacles that face specialists and hospitals and preclude the establishment of this service.


METHODS
A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 53 major governmental and private hospitals in KSA on September 2005. The response rate was 69.8%. Data were coded and analyzed.


RESULTS
The survey identified 9 sleep disorders facilities in KSA; 7 were defined as sleep disorders centers and 2 as sleep laboratory using the American Academy of Sleep Medicine definitions. The per capita polysomnography (PSG) rate was 7.1 PSG/year/100,000 population, which was much lower than the reported rates in developed countries. The occupancy rate of sleep facilities was found to be low (45.7%). The most important identified obstacles facing the progress of sleep medicine in KSA were lack of trained sleep technicians, shortage of sleep medicine specialists and the un-availability of fund or designated space for the facility.


CONCLUSIONS
Sleep medicine seems to be underdeveloped in KSA compared to developed countries. Organized efforts are needed to overcome the identified obstacles and challenges facing the progress of sleep medicine in KSA.
Bahammam
Ahmed S
AS
Director Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine 38, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 225503, Riyadh 11324, Kingdom, of Saudi Arabia. ashammam2@yahoo.com
Aljafen
Bandar
B
D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine / Q000639:trends; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D013038:Specialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires