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50 A qualitative study of public online discussion forums: exploring parents’ concerns about children’s sleep problems and views about online, community and primary care support

50 A qualitative study of public online discussion forums: exploring parents’ concerns about children’s sleep problems and views about online, community and primary care support
50 A qualitative study of public online discussion forums: exploring parents’ concerns about children’s sleep problems and views about online, community and primary care support
Introduction Chronic insomnia is common in children. Behavioural interventions are effective.1 A systematic review (pending publication) revealed UK research about primary healthcare (PC) management is limited. Parents seek advice online,2 however, no published research to date has explored parents’ discussions online about PC management. This qualitative study explored (in online discussions) parents’ concerns/expectations about children’s sleep problems, awareness of online, PC, and community management resources, and perceptions of management within PC.

Methods Two public online discussion forums were searched for parents’ discussions about children’s sleep problems. Eligible threads were analysed with Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis.

Results Ninety-three threads were included.

Five main themes were developed. Parents had many ‘concerns about children’s sleep problems’ and were emotional/practical support for one another: ‘parents experiences or sharing advice online as a resource’. Parents expressed little regarding PC but had ‘mixed experiences and perceptions of community-based PC professionals’ and ‘limited experiences and perceptions of general practice’. They often discussed ‘other resources for supporting parents with child sleep problems’ (e.g. apps, private sleep consultants).

Discussion Parents may have unmet management needs, act as resources for one another, and use non-healthcare resources, however the accuracy of these resources must be explored. The management of chronic insomnia within PC specifically must be further explored.

This study/project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
A24
Hornsey, Samantha
ae4537b0-04fd-4c1a-a859-e7863fab5055
Hill, Catherine
66787fad-7526-47af-bbf5-b6407c76c5a5
Muller, Ingrid
2569bf42-51bd-40da-bbfd-dd4dbbd62cad
Stuart, Beth
626862fc-892b-4f6d-9cbb-7a8d7172b209
Everitt, Hazel
80b9452f-9632-45a8-b017-ceeeee6971ef
Hornsey, Samantha
ae4537b0-04fd-4c1a-a859-e7863fab5055
Hill, Catherine
66787fad-7526-47af-bbf5-b6407c76c5a5
Muller, Ingrid
2569bf42-51bd-40da-bbfd-dd4dbbd62cad
Stuart, Beth
626862fc-892b-4f6d-9cbb-7a8d7172b209
Everitt, Hazel
80b9452f-9632-45a8-b017-ceeeee6971ef

Hornsey, Samantha, Hill, Catherine, Muller, Ingrid, Stuart, Beth and Everitt, Hazel (2021) 50 A qualitative study of public online discussion forums: exploring parents’ concerns about children’s sleep problems and views about online, community and primary care support. BSS Scientific Conference 2021, Virtual. A24 . (doi:10.1136/bmjresp-2021-bssconf.44).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Other)

Abstract

Introduction Chronic insomnia is common in children. Behavioural interventions are effective.1 A systematic review (pending publication) revealed UK research about primary healthcare (PC) management is limited. Parents seek advice online,2 however, no published research to date has explored parents’ discussions online about PC management. This qualitative study explored (in online discussions) parents’ concerns/expectations about children’s sleep problems, awareness of online, PC, and community management resources, and perceptions of management within PC.

Methods Two public online discussion forums were searched for parents’ discussions about children’s sleep problems. Eligible threads were analysed with Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis.

Results Ninety-three threads were included.

Five main themes were developed. Parents had many ‘concerns about children’s sleep problems’ and were emotional/practical support for one another: ‘parents experiences or sharing advice online as a resource’. Parents expressed little regarding PC but had ‘mixed experiences and perceptions of community-based PC professionals’ and ‘limited experiences and perceptions of general practice’. They often discussed ‘other resources for supporting parents with child sleep problems’ (e.g. apps, private sleep consultants).

Discussion Parents may have unmet management needs, act as resources for one another, and use non-healthcare resources, however the accuracy of these resources must be explored. The management of chronic insomnia within PC specifically must be further explored.

This study/project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

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More information

Published date: 2021
Additional Information: BMJ Open Respiratory Research 2021; 8(Suppl 1)
Venue - Dates: BSS Scientific Conference 2021, Virtual, 2021-11-04

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 453080
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/453080
PURE UUID: 9fb9a3a4-25d9-46a2-b975-6971525080c1
ORCID for Samantha Hornsey: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1521-248X
ORCID for Ingrid Muller: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9341-6133
ORCID for Beth Stuart: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5432-7437
ORCID for Hazel Everitt: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7362-8403

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Date deposited: 07 Jan 2022 17:51
Last modified: 21 Nov 2024 02:52

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Contributors

Author: Samantha Hornsey ORCID iD
Author: Catherine Hill
Author: Ingrid Muller ORCID iD
Author: Beth Stuart ORCID iD
Author: Hazel Everitt ORCID iD

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