Understanding Treatment Anxiety Amongst Indian Adults with Sleep Disturbances

Abstract

Advancements in modern medicine across the globe have made available numerous treatment options for sleep disorders. But some methods appear to be favored over others, particularly in South Asian countries like India. Our study aims to understand the experiences of treatment anxiety amongst Indian adults who face sleep disturbances. Using one-on-one, online interviews to collect data from 21 Indian adults with sleep disturbances, we conducted a thematic analysis to identify themes and sub-themes from the collected data. Three main themes were identified, including uncertainty, treatment anxiety and thresholds to overcome treatment anxiety. Further, three sub-themes were identified which were the 2020 COVID-19 national lockdown in India, social and family factors, and pill factors. Our results reveal a stigma against the usage of psychotropic medication, prevalence of general pill aversion and distrust towards sleep medication.