The Roles of Social Workers and Direct Healthcare Professionals in Advancing Sleep Health Promotion Among Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose:

Sleep disturbances are prevalent among older adults. Physical and mental health complications related to sleep health issues are well-documented in the literature. Social workers, along with other direct healthcare professionals, frequently serve older adults, nearly 60% of licensed social workers report working with this population—making them well-positioned to play a pivotal role in promoting sleep health among older adults. Although many sleep interventions include education to improve sleep in older adults, the role of direct healthcare professionals—especially social workers—in delivering sleep education remains underexplored. Our scoping review examines the roles of social workers and other direct healthcare professionals in delivering educational interventions for older adults and assesses the effectiveness of the outcomes.

Methods:

Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, searches of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, Global Health, Health source, and Social Work Abstracts were conducted, yielding 1,452 studies. A total of 37 studies met our inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria for included studies were: (1) studies including the mean of participants age 60⁺; (2) including sleep education interventions delivered by health professionals or trained personnel; (3) written in English; (4) published in the past 30 years. Studies including non-measurable sleep-related outcomes or non-educational interventions were excluded.

Results:

A total of 37 studies were included. Studies utilized Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) as the most common (n=26), followed by quasi-experimental (n=8), and pilot studies (n=3). Only two interventions were delivered by social workers. Other direct healthcare professionals included nurses (n=6) and psychologists (n=5). Specialized instructors including sleep coaches, mindfulness practitioners, Tai Chi Chih instructors, and fitness professionals are often part of multidisciplinary teams that work together to effectively deliver interventions. Delivery modalities ranged from brief individual coaching to structured group sessions and virtual delivery. The professionals were engaged in facilitating education sessions in most cases (n=6), and incorporating components with specific techniques, exercise, and group sessions. Interventions were found to be effective across diverse professional backgrounds, particularly when utilized behavioral frameworks such as CBT-I and mindfulness-based therapy as well as multimodal sleep interventions. The most reported outcomes were improvements in sleep quality (n=21), including sleep duration and nighttime awakenings, insomnia (n=8), and sleep efficiency (n=8). Additionally, benefits included reduced depression and anxiety (n=8), and improved daytime functioning.

Conclusions and Implications:

This review highlights the underutilized yet vital role of social workers and other healthcare professionals in promoting sleep health among older adults. Our scoping review revealed that beyond education, they offer coaching, emotional support, and sustained engagement. Social workers, in particular, can bridge clinical and community care by addressing social determinants of health and promoting equitable access to sleep interventions. Policy efforts should support interdisciplinary sleep health initiatives, integrate sleep education into preventive care, and include social workers in training. Recognizing sleep health as essential to healthy aging in federal and local policies can strengthen partnerships across healthcare and aging services, ultimately expanding the reach and impact of effective, culturally responsive interventions.