Sheffield Children Sleeping Well Project
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Model for City-wide Implementation of Intensive Behavioural Intervention to Improve Sleep in Vulnerable Children (Sheffield Children Sleeping Well Project).
IRAS ID
217107
Contact name
Heather Elphick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Children's Hospital NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
Sleep is an active ‘restorative process’, essential for optimal physical and mental functioning and well-being. Difficulties with sleep initiation (going to sleep), sleep maintenance (staying asleep) and sleep scheduling (when sleep takes place) result in sleep deprivation, not only for the child concerned but often for other family members.
Children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are frequent users of health services at all levels. Surveys have reported between 53% (State of Sheffield survey, December 2014) and 93% (“Tired All The Time” Family Fund report, 2013) have sleep disturbance.
A further group of vulnerable children identified as having sleep disturbance are children in care - “Looked After” children (LAC) or children who have previously been in care (now adopted). This can be due to a number of factors, previous experiences, attachment difficulties, or for the same reasons as other children. In general there are fewer positive outcomes for looked after children and sleep compounds these and placement stability.
Sleep disturbance can impact on all members of the family: the child, parents and siblings and extended family/carers. The impact of exhaustion on health is wide-ranging in terms of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. This leads to an increased demand on NHS primary care services and to prescriptions of drugs such as melatonin (a hormone playing a key role in the timing of sleep-wake cycle) and antidepressants for parents.
The sleep difficulties for many vulnerable children are due to the way parents address and manage their child’s sleep. Evidence from sleep clinics delivered in the voluntary sector has shown that an intensive behavioural intervention can be highly effective.
This is a feasibility project to deliver and evaluate a behavioural intervention for children with sleep difficulties accessing health services via Sheffield Children’s NHS Trust. The project aims to focus on children with ADHD and “Looked After” children.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0490
Date of REC Opinion
23 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion