Sleep apnea is highly prevalent in adults, especially in those living with obesity (45%), older age >50 years (43%), post-menopause (>47%), substance use and smoking. However, sleep apnea is one of the most under-diagnosed conditions and 84% of adults at high risk of sleep apnea are not diagnosed. Moreover, equity deserving populations have had systematically and historically lower access to healthcare due to disability, older age, low socioeconomic, sexual orientation, geographical constraints, trust issues with healthcare system, or immigration status. Consequently, these populations have more chronic cardio-respiratory and psychological conditions, which suggest higher prevalence of sleep apnea in these populations. However, individual, social and systemic barriers further limit their access to sleep apnea care and led to higher rates of sleep apnea under-diagnosis in equity deserving populations. Exploring and understanding these disparities, and pro-actively engaging people with lived experience in co-design and co-implementation of research is the first step to mitigate these barriers and to provide equitable access to sleep apnea care. The main goals of this talk are: a. To learn from a person with lived experience about the health and social impacts of sleep apnea, especially in underserved people with lived experience of homelessness b. To discuss the challenges of providing sleep apnea care to shelter residents

Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi:

Dr. Yadollahi holds a Canada Research Chair-Tier 2 in Cardio-Respiratory Engineering, is a Senior Scientist at the University Health Network’s KITE research institute (UHN-KITE), an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and an adjunct faculty at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Yadollahi is a strong advocate of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA), and chairs UHN Research’s IDEA committee. Her research aims to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of cardio-respiratory disorders during sleep, and to develop novel technologies for improved management of these disorders. She is particularly interested in developing innovative technologies for monitoring of physiological signals at home and implementing equitable and accessible technologies for under-represented individuals with chronic cardio-respiratory disorders. 

At UHN-KITE, Dr. Yadollahi leads the SleepdB laboratory. SleepdB is one of the few facilities in Canada dedicated to examining the intricate interplay between sleep, hemodynamics and cardio-respiratory disorders. SleepdB has gold standard clinical equipment to assess sleep and cardio-respiratory function. Moreover, through special infrastructure that enables full control of lighting and acoustics, SleepdB can realistically simulate home or in-hospital environments for technology development and validation. To date, Dr. Yadollahi has authored and co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts, presented over 100 times in scientific conferences, filed 3 patents, and been invited to give 60 talks on her research at prominent national and international academic institutions.

Rene Adams:

Rene Adams is a Community Worker, Community Expert and consultant who uses her lived experience of income insecurity, homelessness, and sleep apnea to inform health equity research that promotes the social determinants of health for people experiencing income insecurity and homelessness in association with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions and KITE UHN. Rene is also a member of the UHN Social Medicine Advisory Committee.