Effects of sleep education programs on the sleep of children and adolescents: An integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To identify the effects of sleep education programs reported in the literature on the sleep of infants, children, and adolescents. Method: This integrative review surveyed the online database Pubmed® and the EBSCOhost® research platform from October to November 2018 using selected descriptors to answer the following question: what are the effects of sleep education programs on the sleep of infants, children, and adolescents, when applied? Inclusion criteria were: scientific articles with full text available in Portuguese or English of primary empiric quantitative studies published between 2013 and 2018. Results: The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) model was applied to articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Ninety-three articles were selected. After reading titles and abstracts and identifying the answer to our study question, the final sample consisted of eight articles. Conclusion: The integrative review results show education programs have positive effects on sleep when applied to participants of all age groups. The joint application of programs and other methods for improving sleep in children and adolescents was described as beneficial. The results contribute to Nursing because nurses may have a relevant role in effectively implementing and developing sleep education programs.