Bonuck Karen A, Blank Arthur, True-Felt Barbara, Chervin Ronald
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461. Email:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2016 Sep 1;13:E121. doi: 10.5888/pcd13.160144.
Inadequate or poor quality sleep in early childhood impairs social-emotional and cognitive function via effects on the developing brain and increases obesity risk via hormonal and endocrine effects. The prevalence of short sleep duration, behavioral sleep problems, and sleep-disordered breathing among children aged 3 to 5 years is 20% to 50%. Healthy sleep habits increase sleep duration and prevent behavioral sleep problems. Awareness of sleep-disordered breathing symptoms leads to its timely treatment. We designed a study that aims to empower families whose children are in early childhood programs with the knowledge and skills needed to obtain healthy sleep and to recognize a sleep problem. We used the social-ecological framework to guide individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy interventions. This study builds on the Sweet Dreamzzz, Inc, Early Childhood Sleep Education Program (ECSEP) in Head Start. A stepped-wedge-cluster randomized trial will test effects on child, parent, and classroom outcomes; a policy evaluation will assess the impact of knowledge-translation strategies. The study has 3 aims. The first is to adapt educational materials into multimedia formats and build the capacity of Head Start agencies to implement the study. The second aim is to enroll 540 parent-child dyads in a primary prevention trial of sleep health promotion in Head Start and to analyze effects on children's sleep duration (primary outcome); parents' knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior; and children's sleep difficulties. The third aim is to conduct a secondary prevention feasibility study of screening and guidance for sleep problems. Secondary outcomes are changes in classroom behaviors and policies. Integrating sleep health literacy into early childhood programs could affect the life-course development of millions of children.
幼儿期睡眠不足或质量差会通过对发育中的大脑产生影响而损害社会情感和认知功能,并通过激素和内分泌作用增加肥胖风险。3至5岁儿童中睡眠时长不足、行为性睡眠问题和睡眠呼吸障碍的患病率为20%至50%。健康的睡眠习惯可增加睡眠时间并预防行为性睡眠问题。对睡眠呼吸障碍症状的认识有助于及时治疗。我们设计了一项研究,旨在使参与幼儿项目的家庭掌握获得健康睡眠所需的知识和技能,并识别睡眠问题。我们使用社会生态框架来指导个人、人际、组织、社区和政策干预措施。本研究基于“甜梦zzz公司”在“启智计划”中的幼儿睡眠教育项目(ECSEP)开展。一项阶梯式楔形整群随机试验将测试对儿童、家长和课堂成果的影响;一项政策评估将评估知识转化策略的影响。该研究有三个目标。第一个目标是将教育材料改编为多媒体形式,并增强“启智计划”机构实施该研究的能力。第二个目标是招募540对亲子参与“启智计划”中促进睡眠健康的一级预防试验,并分析对儿童睡眠时间(主要结果)、家长的知识、态度、自我效能感和行为以及儿童睡眠困难的影响。第三个目标是开展针对睡眠问题筛查和指导的二级预防可行性研究。次要结果是课堂行为和政策的变化。将睡眠健康素养纳入幼儿项目可能会影响数百万儿童的生命历程发展。