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Mothers and public health nurses' experiences of sleep problems in children aged 6 months to 3 years: A qualitative

Hege Pettersen Sandtrø1, Kari Glavin2, Hege Therese Størksen2

  • 1Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (RBUP), Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, Norway.

Journal of Clinical Nursing
|November 24, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Mothers experienced unmet expectations and weak therapeutic alliances with public health nurses regarding their young children's sleep problems. Nurses lacked time and knowledge to provide effective, individualized support for maternal identity and child sleep challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Maternal Well-being
  • Public Health Nursing

Background:

  • Childhood sleep problems are prevalent, impacting child development and maternal mental health.
  • Parents frequently seek assistance for sleep issues at well-child clinics.
  • Limited research exists on mothers' and public health nurses' experiences with pediatric sleep disturbances.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore mothers' and public health nurses' (PHN) lived experiences with sleep problems in children aged 6 months to 3 years in Norway.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative study utilizing semi-structured focus group interviews.
  • Two groups of mothers (n=14) and two groups of public health nurses (n=14) participated.
  • The Framework Method was employed for data analysis, adapting maternal data analysis for public health nurse data.

Main Results:

  • Two primary themes emerged: 'therapeutic alliance' (including alliance ruptures and negotiation) and 'reorganisation of identity' (including unfulfilled expectations and internal conflicts).
  • Mothers reported unsatisfactory therapeutic alliances due to general, contradictory, or unsafe advice.
  • Public health nurses recognized parental distress but faced limitations in time and knowledge.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric sleep problems challenge maternal identity due to unmet expectations and impact maternal-child relationships.
  • Effective therapeutic alliances and evidence-based guidance are crucial for public health nurses.
  • Nurses must consider the evolving maternal identity during interventions for childhood sleep issues.
Abstract

Keywords:
becoming a mothermotherspublic health nursequalitative studysleep problemstherapeutic alliancewell-child clinicsyoung children

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