perceptions of insomnia among an iranian population: causes and responses

Background and objective: people’s perceptions toward insomnia are influenced by the socio-cultural context of their lives. therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate beliefs, attitudes, and practices of the participants about causes of insomnia and its management.materials and methods: nineteen participants with a self-reported history of insomnia from the community were recruited in this study. semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. the interviews were recorded and tran-scribed verbatim. the transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis.results: four themes were identified: underlying causes of insomnia, help-seeking barriers, my coping strategies, and good food - bad drugs. participant’s reactions to insomnia depended on their broader socio-cultural beliefs.conclusion: studying these perceptions and responses in our sample would contribute to better understanding of patients’ therapeutic preferences. it would also help to identify effective socio-cultural beliefs on insomnia self-management methods. identification of these beliefs and practices also can contribute to adaptation of common insom-nia treatments.