Setting kids up for life: Evaluating the effectiveness of a digital program for improving the sleep and mental health of children aged 3-12 years

Sleep problems in children aged 3-12 years are highly prevalent, chronic and are a transdiagnostic risk factor for numerous deleterious mental health, physical health, academic and cognitive outcomes in both the short- and long-term. We have developed a group-based, parent-focused, program for preschool (3-5 years) sleep problems and demonstrated that it not only improves child sleep, but that it also leads to significant improvements in anxiety and behaviour problems, and prevents the later emergence of anxiety. The transdiagnostic impact of our sleep program has the potential to significantly improve the lives of young Australian children and their families. The next step is to make it accessible to as many families as possible by a) extending the program to include children up to 12 years of age with sleep problems and b) digitising the program in order to circumvent barriers to help-seeking. The aim of the proposed randomized controlled trial is to determine the relative short- and long-term treatment efficacy of an online, parent-focused treatment program (TX) for children with behavioural sleep problems (aged 3-12 years), compared to a Waitlist Control (WLC) condition. The TX condition will be assessed at baseline, post-assessment (6-wks post-baseline), 12-week, and 6-month follow-up. The WLC condition will be assessed at time points corresponding to baseline, post-assessment, and 12-week follow-up, after which they will receive the TX program. Our end goal, if this program is found to be efficacious, is to disseminate the program nationally to all Australian families through our Momentum online digital mental health assessment and treatment platform.