Efficacy of Parent-child Sleep Intervention

Background: Parents of healthy neonates commonly face sleep disruptions and disturbances after delivery. Notably, increasing challenges are evident among parents of ill infants who required clinical care after birth . These challenges can adversely affect psychological adaptation and parental efficacy which consequently impacting the infant's development. It is crucial to develop an effective parent-child sleep intervention for improving parent-infant sleep and mental well-being and uneventful family health outcomes. Aim: To develop and evaluate the effects of parent-child sleep intervention on improving sleep quality, psychological health, and infant health in parents of infants at intermediate care nursery. Methods: A randomized controlled trial will be conducted at the intermediate care nursery of a level III medical center at Taipei city. A total of 102 pairs of parents and infants will be recruited and randomly assigned to the experimental group or the control group. The intervention program consists of (1) parent-child sleep education, (2) heart rate variability biofeedback training, and (3) counseling and support. Data collection will be multiple time points, including baseline, 1 month postpartum, 3 months postpartum, and 6 months postpartum. Anticipated results: Developing and evaluating a parent-child sleep intervention for postpartum parents and their infants. The findings will be an empirical evidence for pediatric care and family health promotion.