Barriers to Optimal Child Sleep among Families with Low Income: A Mixed-Methods Study to Inform Intervention...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Sleep Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Optimal child sleep is crucial for development, yet many families face significant barriers.
• Low-income households often experience unique challenges impacting children's sleep quality and duration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers to optimal preschooler sleep in low-income households.
• To gather formative data for developing a targeted sleep intervention for parents.
• To understand parent preferences for intervention delivery and format.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach combining online surveys and semi-structured phone interviews.
• Inductive analysis and constant-comparison methods for coding interview transcripts.
• Mapping identified themes onto the Theoretical Domains Framework for contextualization.

Main Results:

• Key barriers identified include stimulating bedtime activities, child behavior challenges, inconsistent routines, parental work, sleep-hindering environments, and parental emotional capacity.
• A majority of parents (60%) preferred virtual intervention delivery for flexibility and accessibility.
• Parents expressed motivation for new strategies due to current frustrations and desire for tangible results.

Conclusions:

• Understanding specific barriers is essential for designing effective parenting sleep interventions.
• Virtual and flexible delivery formats are crucial for engaging parents in low-income settings.
• Future interventions should leverage behavior change frameworks to address identified barriers and promote optimal child sleep.