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Efficacy of a Group-based and Digital Parent Sleep Intervention in HK Preschoolers With NDDs

10 september 2026 uppdaterad av: CHAN NGAN YIN, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Efficacy of a Group-based and Digital Parent Sleep Intervention in Hong Kong Preschoolers With Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD) on Sleep and Behaviors: A Three-arm Randomized Controlled Trial

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in preschoolers are frequently accompanied by persistent sleep disturbances, such as delayed sleep onset and reduced sleep duration, which exacerbate behavioral problems, impair cognitive development, and increase parental stress. While behavioral parent education effectively improves sleep hygiene, access to in-person clinical programs remains limited by high parent dropout rates. Digital delivery offers a flexible, scalable alternative, yet randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating both face-to-face and self-help mobile app formats specifically for preschoolers across NDDs remain scarce. This study is a three-arm RCT designed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of a parent-based sleep intervention delivered via face-to-face group sessions combined with usual care (UC) versus a digital self-help mobile application combined with UC, against UC alone in Hong Kong preschoolers with NDDs. The study also assesses downstream effects on child daytime behaviors, parental stress, and parent sleep/mood outcomes over a 12-month period.

Studieöversikt

Status

Har inte rekryterat ännu

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Detaljerad beskrivning

Preschoolers diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, exhibit high rates of sleep disturbances (40% to 80%) compared to typically developing children. In early childhood, poor sleep quality and reduced sleep duration significantly exacerbate daytime behavioral problems (e.g., temper tantrums, hyperactivity, aggression, and emotional dysregulation), hinder cognitive development, and heighten parental stress. Although parent-based behavioral sleep hygiene interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in improving sleep parameters and daytime behavior, clinical implementation is often hindered by high parental drop-out rates in face-to-face formats. Digital self-help interventions present a flexible, low-cost delivery model that can improve intervention retention. However, there is a lack of rigorous RCTs evaluating the comparative efficacy of face-to-face versus digital sleep interventions specifically tailored for preschoolers across NDDs.

This study is a three-arm randomized controlled trial (1:1:1 allocation ratio) designed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of a parent-based sleep intervention delivered via face-to-face group sessions (+ UC) and a digital mobile application (+ UC) against usual care (UC) alone in Hong Kong preschoolers with NDDs. The primary aim is to test whether both face-to-face and digital parent-based sleep interventions lead to significantly greater improvements in children's sleep disturbances and sleep diary parameters compared to UC alone, and whether the digital format demonstrates comparable efficacy to the face-to-face format. The secondary aims are to evaluate treatment effects on children's daytime behavioral symptoms, parenting stress, and parents' own sleep and mood conditions, as well as to determine whether treatment gains are maintained across 3-month and 12-month follow-up periods.

It is hypothesized that both active intervention arms will yield significantly greater improvements in child sleep metrics compared to UC alone, with face-to-face delivery showing similar efficacy to the digital format. Additionally, intervention gains in child sleep are hypothesized to mediate improvements in daytime behaviors and parental stress at the 3-month and 12-month follow-ups.

Studietyp

Interventionell

Inskrivning (Beräknad)

150

Fas

  • Inte tillämpbar

Kontakter och platser

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Studiekontakt

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Studieorter

  • Hong Kong
      • Shatin, Hong Kong
        • Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
        • Kontakt:

Deltagandekriterier

Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.

Urvalskriterier

Åldrar som är berättigade till studier

  • Barn

Tar emot friska volontärer

Nej

Beskrivning

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Cantonese-speaking preschoolers aged 2 to 7 years and their parents
  2. Children currently studying in a kindergarten in Hong Kong
  3. Clinical DSM-5 diagnosis within the category of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs)
  4. Presence of child sleep disturbances, defined as a score ≥52 on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ)
  5. Written informed consent provided by a parent or legal guardian

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Children with a prominent medical condition known to interfere with sleep continuity and quality (e.g., severe eczema)
  2. Children or parents with a physical or mental condition requiring more intensive clinical intervention (e.g., parental intellectual disability)
  3. Children currently receiving regular medical or psychological treatment for existing sleep problems
  4. Children with a past history of physical or psychological abuse
  5. Parents lacking parenting capacity or the ability to care for the child's daily living activities due to psychological or medical reasons

Studieplan

Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.

Hur är studien utformad?

Designdetaljer

  • Primärt syfte: Behandling
  • Tilldelning: Randomiserad
  • Interventionsmodell: Parallellt uppdrag
  • Maskning: Ingen (Open Label)

Vapen och interventioner

Deltagargrupp / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Experimentell: Parent-based Group Face-to-face Intervention + Usual Care
A total of 4 weekly sessions of face-to-face parent-based group therapy will be provided. Each session will last 90-120 mins, with each group 6-8 subjects.
Beteende: Parent-based Group Face-to-face Intervention
The group face-to-face intervention will cover sleep psychoeducation, sleep hygiene, attachment-based strategies, and behavioral circadian anchoring.
Experimentell: Digital Self-help Intervention + Usual Care
A total of 4 weely sessions of digital self-help intervention will be provided on our mobile application developed. Each session is comprised of small quizzes to ensure compliance.
Beteende: Digital Self-help Intervention
The intervention will cover sleep psychoeducation, sleep hygiene, attachment-based strategies, and behavioral circadian anchoring, but in digital self-help format on our mobile application.
Inget ingripande: Usual Care
Control group.

Vad mäter studien?

Primära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Severity of Child Sleep Disturbances
Tidsram: 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) will be used to assess the severity of overall sleep disturbances in preschoolers. The total score ranges from 33 to 99, with higher scores indicating worse sleep outcomes (more severe sleep disturbances).
1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).

Sekundära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Child Sleep-wake Pattern
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parent-reported sleep diary is recorded for 7 consecutive days to assess subjective child sleep-wake pattern including sleep duration, wake up time, bedtime and sleep latency.
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child Actigraphy-Derived Objective Sleep-wake Pattern
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child objective movement data recorded via wrist-worn motion sensor (Actiwatch) over 7 days to estimate sleep-wake pattern including sleep duration, wakeup time, bedtime and sleep latency
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child Chronotype
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) is used to assess the child's chronotype. The mid-sleep corrected for sleep debt (MSFsc) measured in local time is derived. It is a continuous time variable where a later time reflects higher eveningness in child chronotype.
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child Behavioral Symptoms
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Behavior Problems Index (BPI) is used to assess child behavioral symptoms at school and home. Total score ranges from 0 to 84, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (greater behavioral problems).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child Behavioral and Emotional Symptoms
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is used to assess child behavioral and emotional symptoms at school and home. SDQ derives a Total Difficulties score ranges from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (greater psychological difficulties).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child Attentional Capacities
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal-Behavior Scale (SWAN) is used to assess child attentional capacities. Average item scores range from -3 to +3 (or total score -90 to +90 across 30 items), where higher positive scores indicate a worse outcome (worse attentional strength and behavioral control) and lower negative scores indicate a better outcome.
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Child Autistic Traits
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Children Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-Child) is used to measure child autistic traits and features. Total score ranges from 0 to 150, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (higher degree of autistic traits).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parent Sleep-wake Pattern
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parent-reported sleep diary is recorded for 7 consecutive days to assess subjective sleep-wake pattern including sleep duration, wake up time, bedtime and sleep latency.
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parent Actigraphy-Derived Objective Sleep-wake pattern
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parent objective movement data recorded via wrist-worn motion sensor (Actiwatch) over 7 days to estimate sleep-wake pattern including sleep duration, wakeup time, bedtime and sleep latency.
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Severity of Parental Insomnia
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is used to measure the severity of parental insomnia. Total score ranges from 0 to 28, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (more severe insomnia).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parental Sleep Quality
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is used to assess overall parental sleep quality. Global score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (poorer sleep quality).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parental Sleep Hygiene
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) is used to assess parental sleep hygiene habits and behaviors. Total score ranges from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (poorer sleep hygiene practice).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parental Chronotype
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) is used to measure parental circadian preference/chronotype. Total score ranges from 16 to 86; higher scores indicate a morning-type preference ("lark") and lower scores indicate an evening-type preference ("owl").
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Severity of Parental Depressive Symptoms
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is used to measure parental depressive symptoms. Total score ranges from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (more severe depression).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Severity of Parental Anxiety Symptoms
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) will be used to assess anxiety symptoms and severity. Total score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (more severe anxiety).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Levels of Parental Stress
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parental Stress Scale (PSS) is adopted to evaluate stress levels specifically related to childcare. Total score ranges from 18 to 90, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (higher parental stress).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parenting Styles
Tidsram: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).
Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) is used to evaluate parenting practices and styles. PSDQ assesses parenting practices across Authoritative, Authoritarian, and Permissive dimensions. Mean subscale scores range from 1 to 5. Higher Authoritative scores indicate a better outcome (more positive, supportive parenting), whereas higher Authoritarian and Permissive scores indicate a worse outcome (more dysfunctional parenting practices).
Baseline, 1-week post-treatment/post-wait, 3-month post-treatment/post-wait, and 12-month post-treatment (intervention groups only).

Samarbetspartners och utredare

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Sponsor

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Utredare

  • Huvudutredare: Rachel Ngan Yin Chan, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Studieavstämningsdatum

Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.

Studera stora datum

Studiestart (Beräknad)

15 september 2026

Primärt slutförande (Beräknad)

31 december 2027

Avslutad studie (Beräknad)

31 december 2028

Studieregistreringsdatum

Först inskickad

30 augusti 2026

Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

10 september 2026

Första postat (Faktisk)

16 september 2026

Uppdateringar av studier

Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)

16 september 2026

Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

10 september 2026

Senast verifierad

1 september 2026

Mer information

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Nyckelord

Ytterligare relevanta MeSH-villkor

Andra studie-ID-nummer

  • 2025.435

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