Sleep Hygiene for Children with Developmental Disabilities

Julie Sutton. RNLD3 Year PHD research project

Research Aim:

To develop an evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems

To develop the evidence base for sleep hygiene education in treating behavioural sleep problems in primary school aged (3-10 years) children with developmental disabilities

• Research sponsored by RCBC Wales. Supervisors – Professor Jane Noyes and Professor Richard Hastings

What is sleep hygiene?

Good sleep hygiene is not….

Sleep hygiene definition

To develop an “a set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep” (Meltzer and Mindell 2004)evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems

“A set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep”

Meltzer and Mindell (2004)

To develop an “a set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep” (Meltzer and Mindell 2004)evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems

The research project

• Pre clinical Phase: Mixed method systematic review

• Phase 1: Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and intervention development work

• Phase 2: Small scale exploratory trial• Phase 3: Development of protocol

for main RCT

To develop an “a set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep” (Meltzer and Mindell 2004)evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems

The sytematic review.

The review questions:

1. Definition of behavioural sleep problems

2. Supporting theory3. Sleep assessment processes4. Components of SHE5. Effectiveness of SHE6. Outcomes and outcome measures7. Experiences of families and

professionals

To develop an “a set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep” (Meltzer and Mindell 2004)evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems

The systematic review

• Systematically searching databases• Reviewing currently available SHE

tools and service evaluations• Streaming the evidence by type to

answer the review questions• Using a combination of synthesis

methods to analyse the data and draw conclusions

Some preliminary findings: Some preliminary findings: Some preliminary findings:

Observational studies

Literature reviews

Professional opinion

Before & after studies

RCT’s

Systematic reviews

Qualitative studies

84 24

20

19

6

4

3

Sleep hygiene education

How well might the evidence answer review questions?

assessm

ent

definition

theory

effective

ness

components

outcomes

experie

nces

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Sleep hygiene education“So what?”

To improve sleep outcomes for children with DD’s

The scale of the problem:• Sleep problems affect around 80% of

children with DD’s• Likely to be severe and enduring; problems

occurring between 3 and 4 times a week and can last into adulthood

• Significant impact on their already compromised cognitive development

• Significant impact on behaviour and mood

To develop an “a set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep” (Meltzer and Mindell 2004)evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems

Sleep hygiene education

An under-used intervention?

To develop an “a set of sleep-related behaviours that expose persons to activities and cues that prepare them for and promote appropriately timed and effective sleep” (Meltzer and Mindell 2004)evidence based sleep hygiene education intervention for parents of primary school aged (3-10 years) children with DD’s experiencing behavioural sleep problems j.sutton@bangor.ac.uk

info@learningdisabilitynurse.co.uk

Please get in touch….