Practice Recommendations

Sleep is an essential to human health and well-being, and sleep disorders can have a significant impact on both physical and mental health. The field of sleep medicine has grown significantly in recent years with advances in research, diagnosis, and treatment options for sleep disorders.

World Sleep Society publishes practice recommendations for the prevention and treatment of sleep disorders. These practice recommendations are developed by a panel of experts in sleep medicine from around the world. They are written to be applicable to the practice of sleep medicine by the global sleep specialists that comprise World Sleep Society membership.

Committee

Chair
Clete Kushida (United States)

Committee Members
Lamia Afifi (Egypt)
Bjørn Bjorvatn (Norway)
Luigi Ferini (Italy)
Diego García-Borreguero (Spain)
Ravi Gupta (India)
Garun Hamilton (Australia and New Zealand)
Ofer Jacobowitz (United States)
Hiroshi Kadotani (Japan)


Kazuo Mishima (Japan)
Charles Morin (Canada)
Thomas Penzel (Germany)
Federica Provini (Italy)
Leon Rosenthal (United States)
Darwin Vizcarra (Peru)

Process

Individual and Associate Society members can submit current guidelines for endorsement or topics for practice recommendations. The Committee then convenes to evaluate the proposed guideline(s) and/or topic(s) for development. The Committee assesses each proposed guideline or topic based on the availability of adequate international research and data to substantiate recommendations, the potential implications for the field of sleep medicine, and the expected improvements in patient outcomes. After careful evaluation, the Committee presents its recommendations to the Governing Council to determine which topics to prioritize for development or endorsement. Once topics are approved, World Sleep Society invites its international membership to form a task force that will further endorse or develop the practice recommendation.

To suggest a guideline for endorsement or a topic for development of practice recommendations, please contact [email protected] with the details of your suggestion.

Scope and Roles of the Committee for Endorsing a Guideline

  • The Committee will select what it believes are the most current, highest impact, and important guidelines published throughout the world.
  • The Committee will review each selected guideline and make a recommendation for the WSS Governing Council to endorse the existing guideline or endorse it with caveats.
  • In order for a guideline to be endorsed by the WSS, it needs to be applicable to almost every country in the world.
  • Evidence-based guidelines will be prioritized for Committee review.

Process of Guideline Endorsement

  • Each Committee member comes up with 3 guidelines they think are the most important to prioritize.
  • A master list of these guidelines, segregated by topic will be compiled.
  • The master guidelines list will be reviewed by the Committee, and the Committee will prioritize which guidelines will be reviewed by the Committee first.
  • Each Committee member will select one or more of the guidelines that aligns with his/her background and expertise.  The Committee member will then select a Task Force (see next section) that is comprised of content experts for the specific topic area.  The Committee member will serve as Chair of the Task Force.
  • WSS staff will help the Task Force draft a Position Statement (1-2 pages) on the guideline based on the review of the guideline by the Task Force.  The Task Force Chair is responsible for ensuring that the draft statement is in agreement with the Task Force’s comments, with WSS staff providing consistency and editing.  If upon review of the guideline, the Committee feels that it is not suitable for the WSS to endorse, the guideline will be dropped from further review by the Committee.
  • The Position Statement will be reviewed and edited if necessary by the Committee, and will be subject to a vote by the Committee for approval.
  • Once the Committee approves the Position Statement, the guideline and Position Statement will be reviewed by the WSS Governing Council for final approval and endorsement by the WSS. 
  • Once the WSS approves the Position Statement, submitted for publication with the Task Force Chair as first author, with the Task Force members and committee members as co-authors. 
  • Timeframe for guideline process,  from selection of guideline by Committee member to Committee review: approximately 3 months