RebeccaR

Adding to SusanR's….. We really appreciate getting feedback from people who complete the surveys. Our research team worked with patients when we designed the surveys, but there are always confusing bits or "logic" that we don't catch, so hearing from you all is priceless! It’s also true that any survey is limited in what it captures and how it captures it. It's almost impossible to design a survey where no one will take issue with at least one question, or the answer options available. But with that said, we can always improve and are determined to do so.

I reviewed the snoring question: “Over the past 4 weeks, how often have you snored?” There are other similar questions “Over the past 4 weeks, how often do you have times when you stop breathing during your sleep?” and “Do you ever experience a desire to move your legs because of discomfort or disagreeable sensations in your legs?” These types of questions help indicate whether people are symptomatic, regardless of diagnosis/treatment status. I can see how these would be confusing to answer if you are already diagnosed and treated… or if you are newly diagnosed and your symptoms have changed very recently. Our team is going to look through the questions again and consider some changes. Let us know if you have any further thoughts on the matter.

I will also add that it’s extra challenging to fill out a survey when you can’t ask a staff member clarifying questions in person. For example, I’ve found that when we do research in person in the community, we are most successful when participants complete surveys with a staff member, one on one, in a private room-- something that is clearly not relevant to the online research model! Do you have any ideas for how to bridge this gap (other than sharing feedback through the forum)?

Thanks again for posting. We'll be sure to post on the forum the next time we make any changes to the surveys. In the meantime, thank you for filling out the surveys. Even though the surveys aren't perfect, your willingness to participate is enormously valuable and do help researchers advance knowledge about how sleep apnea impacts the lives of patients and how we can improve care. As an FYI we are starting to look at initial findings from the survey data and look forward to sharing the results with MyApnea this spring!

Keep in touch....

Hi Denzel,

Since you are interested in quality of life, I wanted to let you know that when you complete the MyApnea research surveys, you get a report that shows how you scored on some quality of life outcomes like insomnia, sleepiness, depression, and daily functioning. Most of the scores are from validated screening questionnaires that your doctor or medical researchers might use. Given your questions, I thought you might be interested in this resource.

Best of luck!

The surveys are live again!

Dear All,

First- sorry for my delayed reply!!! And thank you for all the great comments and stories.

It sounds like the impact of sleep apnea on work has varied widely but has often impacted important quality of life issues- ranging from not being able to concentrate on the newspaper, to being in a serious accident (wiredgeorge-- so glad you are okay). I found it interesting that several of you mentioned that treatment can have varying affects. It can be a life changer, make a small but noticeable difference, or take months to make an impact if at all.

On that note, recently, MyApnea researchers have been investigating trends in the MyApnea survey data on that topic: sleep apnea patients who use their CPAP machines and still feel sleepy. I wonder how common this concern is for the MyApnea community and for sleep apnea patients broadly...

Hello MyApnea Community!

The MyApnea surveys are temporarily unavailable due to some technical updates we are conducting. If you visited the surveys in the last few days and could not complete them, please check-in again soon! We will notify you when they are up and running again. To everyone who has already completed the core surveys – thank you. Your contribution helps researchers better understand how sleep apnea and other sleep issues impact people’s daily lives, and that can contribute to better patient care in the future.

We’ll keep you updated as to when the surveys will be live and available again.

Thanks!

Labor Day got me thinking about how sleep apnea affects people as workers. Sleep apnea can affect more than sleep. It can affect relationships and professional lives too. What are people's experiences managing their jobs and their sleep apnea?

• Has anyone had to change their work or leave their work?

• Has anyone worked with a manager to accommodate their sleep condition?

• Has anyone noticed positive changes at work following treatment?

• What lessons have you learned along the way that can help others?

Thanks Remo! It's cool to see an overview about the MyApnea community on the Timeline. I was happy to see that almost exactly half of the users who completed surveys are men and half are women! It was also great to see that about 97% of people who did the surveys are willing to participate in future research.

Also, we are still doing the gift card raffles! Another draw is coming up this week!

We just did the first $50 gift card raffle draw for the 108 people who have completed the new MyApnea surveys. Congratulations to the winner! We will have many more draws in the coming months for those who complete the surveys. Does anyone have any questions about the surveys so far? What do you think about the printable personalized report?

Hello CyberSleuth,

Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear you were disappointed with the surveys. We forwarded your concerns to our research team and will incorporate your feedback into future versions of the surveys. As always, we encourage specific feedback on the MyApnea research and overall site from all our users. Our patient-research team is committed to MyApnea being patient-powered. Keep in touch, and feel free to share feedback anytime with the support team anytime: support@myapnea.org.

Thanks so much for following up. If you email me directly, I'll resend you the email (unencrypted) with your permission.

Also, we are going to do everything we can to avoid this system in the future so that it isn't such a hassle for you all. We are grateful for your feedback and for your interest in participating in research!