About
“Many of us had suffered from poor sleep at some point. However, in many cases, we were able to get our sleep schedule back on track or make up for the sleep loss. Potential health problems occur when our sleep problems become chronic and untreated. Managing poor sleep is challenging to older adults, given their age, medical comorbidity, and other factors. Helping them to prevent and/or manage sleep problems may improve their health outcomes, quality of life, and potentially decrease health care costs.”
Dr. Yeonsu Song's research is focused on sleep in older adults and family caregiving. She is particularly interested in managing sleep problems among those with cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. She is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial, testing a dyadic sleep intervention program for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and their informal caregivers. Her ultimate goal is to disseminate her sleep education program to various types of community settings by training a non-sleep specialist health care provider. She believes that nurses or nurse practitioners can play a critical role in managing sleep problems, a critical issue to health and well-being in geriatric population.
Professional Activities
2004-PresentMember, Gerontological Society of America
2005-PresentMember, Alpha Eta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau
2006-PresentMember, Sleep Research Society
2007-PresentMember, Asian American/Pacific Islander Nurses Association
2014-PresentMember, American Academy of Sleep Medicine
2018-PresentMember, Western Institute of Nursing
2018-PresentMember, Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment
Education
BS Nursing, Hanyang University, School of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea
MS Nursing, Hanyang University, School of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea
PhD Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing, Department of Physiological Nursing
Post MSN Certiciate, Family Nurse Practitioner, San Francisco State University
Honors and Awards
2004-2005UCSF, School of Nursing Fellowship
2004-2009UCSF, The Graduate Dean’s Health Science Fellowship
2005-2006UCSF, William Randolph Hearst Foundation Scholarship Award, John. A Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
2006Korean American Scholarship
2007-2008UCSF, John. A Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence Scholarship
2008Kaiser Permanente Deloras Jones Registered Nurse Scholarship
2009UCSF, Century Club Grant for Dissertation Research
2014Fellowship, Grantmakers in Aging Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA
2015Selected trainee, VA Office of Nursing Services, Grantsmanship Workshop, Chicago, IL
2015Selected trainee, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Young Investigator Research Forum, Rockville, MD
Publications
Jessup MA, Song Y: Tobacco-Related Practices and Policies in Residential Perinatal Drug Treatment Programs, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Suppl 5: 357-364, 2008.
Song Y, Dowling GA, Wallhagen MI, Lee KA, Strawbridge WJ, Hubbard E: Rest-Activity Patterns in Institutionalized Korean Older Adults with Dementia: A Pilot Study, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 27: 1-8, 2009.
Song Y, Ancoli-Israel S, Lewis CE, Redline S, Harrison SL, Stone KL: The Association of Race/Ethnicity with Objectively Measured Sleep Characteristics in Older Men, Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 10(1): 54-69, 2011.
Johnson AL, Jung L, Song Y, Brown KC, Weaver MT, Richards KC: Sleep Deprivation and Error in Nurses Who Work the Night Shift, Journal of Nursing Administration, 44(1): 17-22, 2014.
Blackwell T, Yaffe K, Laffan A, Ancoli-Israel S, Redline S, Ensrud KE, Song Y, Stone KL: Associations of Objectively and Subjectively Measured Sleep Quality with Subsequent Cognitive Decline in Older Community-Dwelling Men : The MrOS Sleep Study, Sleep, 37(4): 655-663, 2014.
Song Y, Blackwell T, Yaffe K, Ancoli-Israel S, Redline S, Stone KL: Relationships Between Sleep Stages and Changes in Cognitive Function in Older Men: The MrOS Sleep Study, Sleep, 38(3): 411-421, 2015.
Blackwell T, Yaffe K, Laffan A, Redline S, Ancoli-Israel S, Ensrud KE, Song Y, Stone KL: Associations Between Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Nocturnal Hypoxemia, and Subsequent Cognitive Decline in Older Community-Dwelling Men: The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Sleep Study, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 63(3): 453-461, 2015.
Song Y, Dzierzewski JM, Fung CH, Rodriguez JC, Jouldjian S, Mitchell MN, Josephson KR, Alessi CA, Martin JL: Association Between Sleep and Physical Function in Older Veterans in an Adult Day Healthcare Program, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 63(8): 1622-1627, 2015.
Dzierzewski JM, Song Y, Fung CH, Rodriguez JC, Jouldjian S, Alessi CA, Breen EC, Irwin MR, Martin JL: Self-reported Sleep Duration Mitigates the Association Between Inflammation and Cognitive Functioning in Hospitalized Older Men, Frontiers In Psychology, 6: 1004, 2015.
Rodriguez JC, Dzierzewski JM, Fung CH, Jouldjian S, Josephson KR, Mitchell MN, Song Y, Martin JL, Alessi CA: Association between Pain and Functional Independence in Older Adults During and After Admission to Rehabilitation After an Acute Illness or Injury, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 63(11): 2275-2281, 2015.
Alessi CA, Martin JL, Fiorentino L, Fung CH, Dzierzewski JM, Rodriguez JC, Song Y, Josephson K, Jouldjian S, Mitchell NM: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Older Veterans Using Non-clinician Sleep Coaches: Randomized Controlled Trial, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64(9): 1830-1838, 2016.
Song Y, Washington DL, Yano EM, McCurry SM, Fung CH, Dzierzewski JM, Rodriguez JC, Jouldjian S, Mitchell MN, Alessi CA, Martin JL: Caregiving-Related Sleep Problems and Their Relationship to Mental Health and Daytime Function in Female Veterans, Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 3: 1-12, 2016.
Culver NC, Song Y, McGowan SK, Fung CH, Mitchell MN, Rodriquez JC, Dzierzewski JM, Josephson KR, Jouldjian S, Washington DL, Yano EM, Schweizer CA, Alessi CA, Martin JL: Acceptability of Medication and Non-Medication Treatment for Insomnia Among Women Veterans: Effects of Age, Insomnia Severity, and Psychiatric Symptoms, Clinical Therapeutics, 38(11): 2373-2385, 2016.
Fung CH, Martin JL, Hays RD, Patterson ES, Aysola R, Col N, Mitchell MN, Truong C, Dzierzewski JM, Jouldjian S, Song Y, Rodriguez JC, Josephson K, Alessi C: Patient-Reported Usability of Positive Airway Pressure Equipment is Associated with Adherence in Older Adults, Sleep, 40(3) doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsx007, 2017.
Martin JL, Song Y, Hughes J, Jouldjian S, Dzierzewski JM, Fung CH, Rodriguez JC, Mitchell MN, Alessi CA: A Four-Session Sleep Intervention Program Improves Sleep for Older Adult Day Health Care Participants: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial, Sleep, 40(8) doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsx079, 2017.
Fung CH, Martin JL, Josephson K, Fiorentino L, Dzierzewski JM, Jouldjian S, Song Y, Rodriguez JC, Mitchell MN, Alessi CA: Cognitive Expectancies for Hypnotic Use Among Older Adults with Chronic Insomnia, Clinical Gerontologist, doi:10.1080/07317115.2017.1356895, 2017.
Song Y, McCurry SM, Fung CH, Josephson K, Teng E, Irwin MR, Alessi CA, Martin JL: Sleep and Caregiving Experiences Among Caregivers of Veterans in an Adult Day Health Care Program: A Pilot Study, Clinical Gerontologist, doi: 10.1080/07317115.2017.1365795, 2017.
Song Y, Harrison S, Martin JL, Alessi CA, Ancoli-Israel S, Stone KL, Fredman L: Changes in Caregiving Status and Intensity and Sleep Characteristics Among High and Low Stressed Older Women, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, pii: jc-17-00175, 2017.
Hughes JM, Song Y, Fung CH, Dzierzewski JM, Mitchell MN, Jouldjian S, Josephson K, Alessi CA, Martin JL: Measuring Sleep in Vulnerable Older Adults: A Comparison of Subjective and Objective Sleep Measures, Clinical Gerontologist, doi: 10.1080/07317115.2017.1408734, 2018.
Yeung T, Martin JL, Fung CH, Fiorentino L, Dzierzewski JM, Rodriguez Tapia JC, Song Y, Josephson K, Jouldjian S, Mitchell MN, Alessi CA: Sleep Outcomes with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Are Similar Between Older Adults with Low vs. High Self-Reported Physical Activity, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00274, 2018.
Dzierzewski JM, Martin JL, Fung CH, Song Y, Fiorentino L, Jouldjian S, Rodriguez JC, Mitchell MN, Josephson K, Alessi CA: CBT for Late-Life Insomnia and the Accuracy of Sleep and Wake Perceptions: Results from a Randomized-Controlled Trial, Journal of Sleep Research, doi: 10.1111/jsr.12809, 2019.