Parental Perspectives of Sleep in the Home: Shaping Home-School Partnerships in School-Based Sleep Promotion Initiatives.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep is a critical component of child health and the prevention of chronic disease. Children may benefit from school-based sleep promotion; however, parents need to be involved for healthy sleep strategies learned at school to be translated to the home. The objective of this study was to explore parental perspectives on sleep behaviors and responsiveness to school-based sleep promotion. METHODS: Twenty-five parents of school-aged children were purposively sampled for interviews from July 2019 through April 2020 in Alberta, Canada. Descriptive qualitative methodology was used, and data were generated through semistructured interviews and researcher field notes. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified by using latent content analysis. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from analysis: 1) sleep is valued and supported, 2) barriers to healthy sleep exist, and 3) schools are allies in promoting sleep. Parents perceived that sleep was essential for their child's health, facilitated healthy sleep practices in the home, and highlighted barriers (busy schedules and poor parental role models) that affected sleep. Parents supported and expressed value in school-based sleep promotion and noted factors that affected the success of school-based sleep promotion. CONCLUSION: Parents are responsive to school-based sleep promotion. Promotion efforts should include resources that engage and involve parents in the school community. Throughout the development of resources to support school-based sleep promotion, additional consideration of parent-reported barriers to promoting healthy sleep in the home should be included.

A Qualitative Study of the Pain Experiences of Children and Their Parents at a Canadian Children's Hospital.

Current literature is lacking in describing families' experiences in being involved in children's pain management. This study sought to understand children and their parents' experiences with pain management at a tertiary care children's hospital. Twelve child-parent dyads were recruited to participate in the study from January to August 2022. Children and their parents chose whether to be interviewed together or separately. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive, data-driven codes. Codes and themes were developed using a codebook and member-checking. Three main themes were identified: a. Painful experiences can have a significant positive or negative effect on families' lives and healthcare trajectories; b. There can be a mismatch between families' expectations of pain management and how they perceive the pain was managed; c. Families feel that they must advocate for better pain care, but often feel too intimidated to do so, or worry that their concerns will be dismissed by healthcare professionals. Families want healthcare professionals to proactively manage their children's pain, supporting the shaping of early positive memories of the child's healthcare interactions. Healthcare providers must further recognize that poorly treated pain can significantly impact families' lives and should both seek and be receptive to child and parent input for better pain care.