Sleep Health Dysfunction and the Use of a Transdiagnostic Sleep Intervention in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Pre-phase (2 weeks in duration):

Initial Interview: Following informed consent and enrollment, participants will complete a 45-60 minute interview with research investigators using video web conferencing (e.g., Zoom). If the participant agrees, this interview will be recorded. During this interview, investigators will gather descriptive data to characterize the sample including information regarding: 1) the child (age, disease severity for DMD, weight/ height, race/ethnicity, location (rural/suburban/urban), grade in school, medication use); 2) the parent (race/ethnicity, marital status, work status, education level, income); 3) the child's sleep environment (technology/telephone access, darkness, temperature, bed/bedroom sharing); 4) the child's daily activities and routines (current wake-up time & routines; activities in the home; activities at school and after school); and 5) the child's nighttime routines (activities prior to bedtime; current bedtime routine; technology use prior to bedtime).

ActiGraph: Each parent-child dyad will be mailed a package containing the Actigraph GT9x with wristband, charging device, a manual of operating procedures (MOP) providing all technical and protocol instructions, and phone numbers for research team support. Throughout the 2-week pre-phase data collection period, parents will be required to log and push data from their child's Actigraph to a secure cloud service, CentrePoint, via Wi-Fi each day. This will be accomplished through an app and all data will be de-identified.

Intervention Implementation Phase (10-week duration):

Training Modules: During the intervention phase, weekly video-conference meetings will be held where trained clinicians will guide parents through approximately 60-minute web-based modules using a video-conferencing platform (e.g., Zoom). These sessions will focus on education, dynamic parent training (child-related goal-setting and problem-solving), assessment of sleep health dimensions, and development of a weekly sleep and activity diary. Parents will be provided with a personalized TranS-CY Parent Workbook, which contains information regarding each of the 10 weekly modules. Each weekly session will be agenda driven with the option to revise the agenda based on family needs. Children/youth with DMD will be invited to attend the sessions and provide as much feedback as possible. Data will be collected on parent attendance to assess intervention adoption. Each week, clinicians will request feedback on the previous week's session and provide additional educational support for the previous content should it be required.