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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04473222

Behavioral Sleep Intervention in Urban Primary Care: Aim 3

Investigators will enroll up to 120 parent-child dyads from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) urban primary care clinics. The primary objective of this randomized clinical trial is to determine the whether the Sleep Well! behavioral sleep intervention is feasible and acceptable to families. The investigators will also examine the direction and magnitude in any change in child sleep and child behavior.

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Key information

Age range

1 year–5 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

About this study

Behavioral sleep problems such as insomnia and insufficient sleep are common in toddlers and preschoolers and disproportionately impact lower socioeconomic status (SES) children. Despite a robust evidence base, behavioral sleep interventions are rarely tested with lower-SES children or in primary care, an accessible service delivery setting. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Sleep Well! behavioral sleep intervention is feasible and acceptable to families. The investigators will also examine the direction and magnitude of change in child sleep and behavior from pre-intervention to post-intervention and follow-up. This is a randomized controlled trial of the Sleep Well! program with pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up assessments. Caregiver-child dyads (child ages 1-5 years with a sleep problem) will be recruited from CHOP urban primary care sites.

Sleep Well! is a brief, behavioral sleep intervention for toddlers and preschoolers who have a caregiver-reported behavioral sleep problem or who are not getting enough sleep. The intervention includes evidence-based behavioral sleep approaches and strategies to engage and empower families. The primary outcomes for this pilot trial are feasibility (number of caregivers recruited, engaged, and retained in intervention; participant intervention attendance rate) and caregiver acceptability, assessed via a questionnaire and qualitative post-intervention interview. Secondary outcomes are the direction and magnitude in any change in child sleep. Tertiary outcomes are the direction and magnitude in change in child behavior. Assessments occur at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Parental/guardian permission (informed consent)
  • Caregiver participant is the parent or legal guardian of the child subject
  • Caregiver/legal guardian is greater than or equal to 18 years of age.
  • Child between the ages of 1 and 5 years.
  • Presence of caregiver-reported child sleep problem determined by a Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire item included in an eligibility screening questionnaire or child meets American Academy of Sleep Medicine diagnostic criteria for either pediatric insomnia or insufficient sleep, assessed through an eligibility screening questionnaire.
  • English-speaking.

Exclusion criteria

  • Caregiver is not parent or legal guardian of child participant.
  • Presence of a child neurodevelopmental (e.g., autism spectrum disorder; Trisomy 21) or chronic medical (e.g., sickle cell disease, cancer) concern in which the disorder or treatment of the disorder impact sleep.
  • Caregivers/guardians or subjects who, in the opinion of the Investigator, may be non-compliant with study schedules or procedures.

Treatment and study plan

Sleep Well!

Behavioral

Sleep Well! is a brief, behavioral sleep intervention. The intervention was originally comprised of healthy sleep advice and tested in the context of a sleep health education campaign for impoverished children. Based on preliminary research regarding the need for sleep intervention in primary care, Investigators have expanded the intervention to more comprehensively address poor sleep health behaviors (e.g., use of electronics at bedtime; inconsistent and variable sleep schedules; lack of a bedtime routine) as well as insomnia (difficulty falling and staying asleep; the need for caregiver presence at bedtime) and insufficient sleep in toddlers and preschoolers who are living in disadvantaged contexts. Intervention components are based on effective pediatric behavioral sleep treatments.

Sleep Education

Behavioral

Sleep education for caregivers of toddlers and preschoolers is provided via a Parent Family Education handout available to families and clinicians in the CHOP primary care network. The handout contains evidence-based advice about healthy sleep in early childhood.

Primary outcomes

  1. Retention Rate (Intervention Feasibility)

    Time frame: Study duration (up to 24 weeks)

    The study team will track the number of caregiver-child dyad participants assigned to the Sleep Well! condition who complete the intervention as a measure of retention, or intervention feasibility. The retention rate reported is for those who completed all sessions and phone calls for the Sleep Well! intervention.

  2. Family Engagement (Sessions)

    Time frame: Study duration (up to 24 weeks)

    For families randomized to the intervention condition, study interventionists will rate family engagement during telehealth sessions using a one-item 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not engaged) to 5 (very good engagement), with higher scores representing better engagement. The outcome reported is the average rating of telehealth session engagement across sessions 1, 2, and 3.

  3. Family Engagement (Telephone Calls)

    Time frame: Study duration (up to 24 weeks)

    For families randomized to the intervention condition, study interventionists will rate family engagement during telephone calls using a one-item 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not engaged) to 5 (very good engagement), with higher scores representing better engagement. The outcome reported is the average rating of telehealth session engagement across all completed telephone calls.

  4. Treatment Acceptability

    Time frame: Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Treatment Evaluation Inventory-Short Form, a widely used measure of treatment acceptability that has been adapted for the purposes of the Sleep Well! intervention. For this reported outcome, caregivers responded to the statement "I found these strategies to be an acceptable way of dealing with my child's sleep" on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 "strongly disagree" to 5 "strongly agree," with higher scores reflecting stronger acceptability.

  5. Treatment Acceptability: Cultural Humility

    Time frame: Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Multicultural Therapy Competency Inventory- Client Version, adapted for the current study, to assess participants' perceptions of the Sleep Well! therapist's cultural humility during the intervention. Caregivers in the intervention condition responded to the statement "When we discussed my child's sleep, my Sleep Well! therapist was accepting of my family's values and beliefs," on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 "strongly disagree" to 5 "strongly agree." Higher ratings indicate greater perceived cultural humility.

  6. Assessment Process (Study Feasibility)

    Time frame: Study duration (up to 24 weeks)

    The study team will keep records of the number of planned assessments that are completed (i.e., the entire assessment was completed) as a measure of study feasibility.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Severity of Child Sleep Problems

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete a Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire item to report on the severity of any caregiver-perceived sleep problems at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Caregivers reported on the severity of child sleep problems on a 5-point Likert scale; responses were then dichotomized as in prior research such that 0= no to very small sleep problem and 1= small, moderate, or serious sleep problem. Higher scores indicate worse sleep problems.

  2. Child Sleep Problems: Bedtime Difficulties

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete a Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire item to report on the severity of child bedtime difficulties at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Caregivers reported on the severity of bedtime difficulties on a 5-point Likert scale; responses were then dichotomized as in prior research such that 0= easy to somewhat easy bedtime and 1= somewhat difficult, difficult, or very difficult at bedtime. Higher scores indicate greater bedtime difficulties.

  3. Child Sleep Patterns: Sleep Onset Latency

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire (BCSQ) to report on child sleep habits (sleep time, total sleep duration, night wakings, aspects of the sleep environment, etc.) at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. The BCSQ is appropriate for children ages 1-5 years and has shown good reliability and moderate correspondence with actigraphic recordings of child-sleep. Caregivers responded to a BCSQ question regarding the time the child took to fall asleep in minutes after lights out. Higher values indicate a longer period of time to fall asleep in minutes.

  4. Child Sleep Patterns: Number of Wakings Per Night

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire (BCSQ) to report on child sleep habits (sleep time, total sleep duration, night wakings, aspects of the sleep environment, etc.) at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. The BCSQ is appropriate for children ages 1-5 years and has shown good reliability and moderate correspondence with actigraphic recordings of child-sleep. Caregivers responded to a BCSQ question regarding the number of times their child woke during the night. Higher values indicate more frequent wakings per night.

  5. Child Sleep Patterns: Duration of Wakings Per Night

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire (BCSQ) to report on child sleep habits (sleep time, total sleep duration, night wakings, aspects of the sleep environment, etc.) at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. The BCSQ is appropriate for children ages 1-5 years and has shown good reliability and moderate correspondence with actigraphic recordings of child-sleep. Caregivers responded to a BCSQ question regarding the total time in minutes their child was awake during the night. Higher values indicate longer night wakings in minutes.

  6. Child Sleep Patterns: Nighttime Sleep Duration

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire (BCSQ) to report on child sleep habits (sleep time, total sleep duration, night wakings, aspects of the sleep environment, etc.) at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. The BCSQ is appropriate for children ages 1-5 years and has shown good reliability and moderate correspondence with actigraphic recordings of child-sleep. Caregivers responded to a BCSQ question regarding the total time their child slept overnight in hours. Higher values indicate longer nighttime sleep duration in hours.

  7. Child Sleep Patterns: Total 24-hour Sleep Duration

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire (BCSQ) to report on child sleep habits (sleep time, total sleep duration, night wakings, aspects of the sleep environment, etc.) at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. The BCSQ is appropriate for children ages 1-5 years and has shown good reliability and moderate correspondence with actigraphic recordings of child-sleep. Caregivers responded to a BCSQ question regarding the total time their child slept overnight, and a BCSQ question regarding the total time their child slept during the day for naps. Responses to these two items were summed to estimate total (24-hour) sleep duration in hours. Higher values indicate longer total sleep duration in hours.

  8. Child Sleep Patterns: Actigraphy Derived Nighttime Sleep Duration

    Time frame: 7 days at Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will have their child wear an actigraph to obtain estimates of sleep onset, sleep offset, and sleep duration at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Nighttime sleep duration in minutes is obtained from scoring sleep onset and sleep offset in combination with caregiver-reported nightly sleep diaries of bed and wake times. Nighttime sleep duration is expressed as the average sleep duration in hours across the 7 nights of actigraphy at each timepoint. Higher values indicate longer average nighttime sleep duration.

  9. Child Behavior Problems: Externalizing Problems

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) for ages 1.5-5 years to report on child internalizing and externalizing concerns at Baseline, Time 2 (post-intervention), and Time 3 (follow-up). The CBCL has shown strong reliability and validity in large validation studies and is a widely used measure of child behavior. The Externalizing T-score is generated from caregiver-rated raw items that are summed and converted to T-scores based on CBCL normative data. Higher T-scores indicate greater externalizing problems. 50 indicates the population mean with a standard deviation of 10. A T-score of 65-69.9 indicates elevated concerns and a T-score of 70 and above indicates clinically significant concerns.

  10. Child Behavior Problems: Internalizing Problems

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), Time 2 (an average of 9 weeks post-baseline), and Time 3 (an average of 15 weeks post-baseline)

    Caregivers will complete the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) for ages 1.5-5 years to report on child internalizing and externalizing concerns at Baseline, Time 2 (post-intervention), and Time 3 (follow-up). The CBCL has shown strong reliability and validity in large validation studies and is a widely used measure of child behavior. The Internalizing T-score is generated from caregiver-rated raw items that are summed and converted to T-scores based on CBCL normative data. Higher T-scores indicate greater internalizing problems. 50 indicates the population mean with a standard deviation of 10. A T-score of 65-69.9 indicates elevated concerns and a T-score of 70 and above indicates clinically significant concerns.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Other

Collaborators

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Registry information

Official study title

Implementing Evidence-based Behavioral Sleep Intervention in Urban Primary Care: Aim 3

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Jul 16, 2020
Registry last updated
Mar 16, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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