Mind the Gap! Sleep Problems in Children With ADHD—A Qualitative Analysis of Clinician Training Needs.
Background: This study aims to explore for the first time the knowledge, understanding and management of sleep problems in children with ADHD among clinicians who specialise in sleep and ADHD. The aim was to inform the development of digital sleep awareness training for clinicians. Method: Fifteen c...
| Published in: | Child: Care, Health & Development Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 1 - 10 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Mar2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=192463255&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 192463255 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 03051862 6NX jtl: Child: Care, Health & Development issn: 03051862 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 52 iid: 2 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 192463255 192463255 192463255 10.1111/cch.70254 192463255 ppf: 1 ppct: 9 formats: tig: atl: Mind the Gap! Sleep Problems in Children With ADHD—A Qualitative Analysis of Clinician Training Needs. aug: au: Smith, Lucy Daley, David Cortese, Samuele Hill, Catherine M. affil: NTU Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK sug: subj: Sleep Disorders Risk Factors Risk Assessment Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Complications Health Personnel Education Attitude of Health Personnel Evaluation Clinical Competence Evaluation Professional Knowledge Evaluation Sleep Disorders Therapy Digital Technology Utilization Human Male Female Child, Preschool Child Adolescence United Kingdom Semi-Structured Interview Qualitative Studies Learning Methods Purposive Sample Thematic Analysis Prevalence Family Functioning Parents Psychosocial Factors Psychological Well-Being Risk Taking Behavior Employment Mental Health Hypnotics and Sedatives Therapeutic Use Descriptive Statistics Funding Source Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Male Female ab: Background: This study aims to explore for the first time the knowledge, understanding and management of sleep problems in children with ADHD among clinicians who specialise in sleep and ADHD. The aim was to inform the development of digital sleep awareness training for clinicians. Method: Fifteen clinicians who work with children with ADHD and sleep difficulties in the United Kingdom participated in semistructured qualitative interviews. Data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach to generate and guide the content of digital sleep awareness training. Results: Four core themes were developed: 'It's a Problem' highlighted the extent to which children with ADHD were reported to struggle with sleep difficulties and the impact this has on the child and family. Clinicians also discussed the difficulty they had in finding evidence‐based information they could share with caregivers. With little to no formal training, most of the advice they gave came from 'learning on the job'. When discussing ADHD specific sleep difficulties and disorders, clinicians reflected on their own 'insight into limitations of knowledge'. 'Learning for practice' highlighted the divergence in the methods of learning preferred by clinicians, despite convergence of learning content needed. Conclusions: Sleep problems in children with ADHD are common, and clinicians often struggle to support these due to lack of formal training. There is a need for accessible, authoritative training for UK practitioners who work with children with ADHD. Summary: When asked about their training needs on advising and supporting families of children with ADHD and sleep difficulties, clinicians confirm that sleep difficulties are a problem.Clinicians report that due to a lack of formal training, they often have to learn on the job and highlight limitations to their knowledge on sleep.Clinicians suggest that future training needs to be briefly delivered in bite‐sized sessions, probably in a digital format and from a trusted source.Lack of knowledge on sleep may lead to diagnostic over‐shadowing as well as confusion about ADHD risk versus risks associated with sleep problems. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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