Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 8, 2026
A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research
Published on: July 31, 2017
Short Report: Barriers and facilitators to parents' implementation of a transdiagnostic eHealth sleep intervention
Anastasija Jemcov1, Lindsay Rosenberg1, Kim Tan-MacNeill1
1Corkum LABS, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Insights
Modifying a sleep intervention for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) showed promise. Parents reported increased confidence and motivation, but time and stress were key barriers needing more support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Behavioral Interventions
Background:
- Insomnia is common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), impacting health and well-being.
- Limited access to evidence-based interventions due to cost and time barriers.
- Exploration of adapting the Better Nights, Better Days for typically developing children (BNBD-TD) for NDD populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine qualitative data from parents of children with NDDs regarding their experience with the adapted BNBD-TD intervention.
- Identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the sleep intervention in this population.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving 15 Canadian parents of children (4-10 years) with NDDs.
- Parents implemented the BNBD-TD intervention.
- Semi-structured exit interviews to gather user experience data.
- Inductive thematic analysis of interview transcripts.
Main Results:
- Key facilitators included enhanced parental self-efficacy, positive family sleep outcomes, improved sleep-related beliefs, and increased motivation.
- Significant barriers comprised time constraints, implementation challenges, and psychosocial factors like burnout and stress.
- Parental validation and perceived improvements in sleep problems were also noted.
Conclusions:
- The adapted BNBD-TD intervention shows potential for children with NDDs.
- Addressing barriers like time and parental stress is crucial for successful implementation.
- Recommendations include enhanced program supports and planning assistance for parents to improve intervention success.
Background:
Insomnia is highly prevalent in children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and has negative effects on physical and mental health and wellbeing. Lack of evidence-based intervention programs and barriers to treatment (e.g., time/cost) reduce treatment access. To address these problems, the possibility was explored of modifying the Better Nights, Better Days intervention for typically developing (TD) children (BNBD-TD) to make it appropriate for children with NDD.
Aims:
The current study's aim was to examine qualitative data from exit interviews conducted during a usability study. Parents of children with NDD used BNBD-TD and reported on barriers and facilitators experienced while implementing the intervention.
Methods/Procedures:
Participants were 15 Canadian parents of children aged 4 to 10 years who were formally diagnosed with an NDD. Parents implemented the BNBD-TD intervention with their children and participated in a semi-structured exit interview to provide perspectives on their user experience.
Results:
Based on an inductive thematic analysis, key facilitators included increased self-efficacy, positive outcomes for the family (e.g., improved sleep problems, parent validation), improved sleep related beliefs/attitudes, and increased motivation. Key barriers included time challenges, struggles when trying to improve sleep problems, and psychosocial factors with negative effects on implementation (e.g., burnout, stress, and/or exhaustion).
Conclusions/Implications:
Barriers and facilitators identified resulted in recommendations to include more program supports, including helping parents to plan for implementation success.
