Sleep Resource for Carers of Pre-school Aged Children; a Development and Pilot Study

Evidence suggests sleep difficulties in pre-school children (aged 3-6 years) are highly prevalent and that carer knowledge of good sleep hygiene practices and the importance of them is relatively poor. Establishing a regular bedtime routine, involving activities shown to induce relaxation and prepare the child for sleep, is important in promoting optimal sleep duration and quality. However, there appears to be a lack of evidence-based resources that are empirically evaluated for carers to use with children within the family home. This study proposes to co-develop and pilot a new sleep resource. This will be an interactive storybook which guides children and their carers through a number of activities, designed to increase relaxation and prepare the child for sleep. A randomised control trial (RCT) design will be used, with an intervention group and a waitlist control group who will receive the resource at the end of the intervention period. Both groups will be asked to complete pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up measures; as well as keep sleep diaries for their children for the duration of the intervention period. The intervention group will also be asked to keep a diary of resource use and then to complete a feedback survey post-intervention. They will be asked to use the resource for a minimum of three days a week for a one-month period. This pilot aims to assess the acceptability of the resource and provide initial findings in terms of its efficacy on a range of sleep related outcomes.