Evaluation of an Ecologically Valid Group Intervention to Address Sleep Health in Families of Children With Allergic Diseases

Sleep issues in children with allergic diseases may be a result of illness-related factors (e.g., itching, wheezing) and/or poor sleep habits due to disrupted routines and parental permissiveness. However, the ability of parents to attend a multisession sleep intervention may be limited. Thus, we examined the validity of a one-time sleep health group intervention for parents of children with allergic diseases. Ninety-three parents of children who were admitted to a 2-week intensive day hospital treatment program completed measures of child sleep habits (Children’s Report of Sleep Patterns), parent sleep habits (Sleep Hygiene Inventory), parent sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and parental insomnia symptoms (Insomnia Severity Index) before the group intervention and 1-month after program discharge; 54 parents attended the sleep health group. Sleep habits and sleep quality improved for both parents and children at the 1-month follow-up. However, improvements were seen regardless of group attendance. Potential reasons for the lack of difference between those who did and did not participate in group are presented, and implications of this study for pediatric psychologist in practice are discussed.