About Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners
Mission of Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners
Our mission is to promote diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sleep apnea through education, policy and support in order to advance the state of patient care and life-long well-being of sleep apnea patients.
The Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners (ASAP) is a patient-oriented non-profit organization established in 2018. We are committed to promoting diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sleep apnea on behalf of the patient community to advance the state of patient care and life-long well-being of sleep apnea patients.
In 2014, ASAP founders came together to become the Patient Engagement Panel of MyApnea.org. This panel participated in their bi-monthly meetings at MyApnea.org, monitored the community forum, served on special committees, participated in PCORI grant opportunities and wrote blogs. They even authored a paper with MyApnea.org steering committee members titled Patient Partnerships Transforming Sleep Medicine Research and Clinical Care: Perspectives from the Sleep Apnea Patient-Centered Outcomes Network. The engagement panel further hosted an event at the AASM learning lounge at the SLEEP 2017 meeting on the topic of Patients as Partners in Advancing Sleep Health Engagement Strategies, Challenges and Opportunities.
In 2018, the members of the patient engagement panel established ASAP as a 501c3 organization. They identified the need for broader patient and community engagement as well engagement with a boarder group of stakeholders outside of the sleep community to address concerns of sleep apnea patients with the goal of advancing their well-being. They helped draft the Women and Sleep apnea toolkit in collaboration with the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) in 2016. They continued to share their voices at SLEEP 2018 by participating in a panel discussion on New Paradigms in Sleep Apnea Management: Incorporating the Patient Voice in Personalizing Treatment. That same year, ASAP founders joined the American Thoracic Society (AHS) Public Advisory Roundtable (PAC) and have continued to engage and lend their voices there.
In 2020, ASAP was also invited to join the Patient Advocacy Roundtable hosted by the American Association Sleep Medicine (AASM) and participated in the patient advocacy roundtable panel discussion at the SLEEP 2022. To this day ASAP continues to engage with our sister organization MyApnea.org on regular basis. As an alliance, we are focused on growing our partnerships and collaborations with organizations that are focused on sleep disorders as well as organizations focused on diseases and conditions that are co-morbid with sleep apnea.
The Gaps We Will Fill
Provider trusted site: Clinicians and therapists need a trustworthy web portal for their patients with Sleep Apnea to access evidence-based information and step-by-step guides beyond that available in a clinic.
Facilitating patient learning: Patients and their caregivers need education and support as they navigate their journey to find and implement Sleep Apnea treatment, but as well become advocates for themselves and their family members.
Support patient-centered choice and personalization of treatment: In treating sleep apnea there is literally no “one size fits all” treatment. We will help patients identify alternative ways to use PAP and other treatment alternatives, including emerging technologies.
Community-support: The information we provide will be developed collaboratively by patients and clinicians. It is designed to be a vital resource for individuals, families, caregivers, communities, and schools.
Advocacy
ASAP Believes
Our Values
Patient-led group and patient care comes first.
Diagnosis and treatment should be equitable and inclusive of all races, ages and culturally diverse communities.
Stakeholder community committed to a common agenda to ensure sleep apnea is recognized as a national priority.
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