271236 Sleep Ecology and Behavior of Minority Children Living on the South Side of Chicago

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM

Thomas Britt, MD, MPH , Department of Health Studies, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL
Thomas Britt1, Ivonne Anguh1, Odochi Nwabara1, Karen Spruyt2

1 Chicago State University, Department of Health Studies 2 University of Chicago, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Sleep Medicine

Introduction: Children's sleep occurs in the cultural context within the family, however little is known regarding altered sleep patterns in minority children. Living conditions, family schedules, and diets contribute to adverse affects on children's sleep. Poor sleep has been associated with adverse behavioral, cognitive and unhealthy outcomes.

Methods: A pilot study utilizing a de-identified questionnaire was randomly distributed on Chicago's south side. The questionnaire surveys the sleep environment of children, sleep- wake schedules and sleep behaviors. Descriptive analyses were conducted on the preliminary data (n=27).

Results: There were 84% African American, 12% mixed ethnicity and 4% African. Ages ranged from 20 to 58 years. Average household size was 4. The gender of children was fairly equally distributed. Ages ranged from 1 to 14 years. 48% of the children did not have their own room and bed; 42.9% shared bed with mom; some slept with siblings. The average child went to bed during the week at 8:53 pm and woke-up at 6:51 am; the weekend bedtime was 10:25 pm and wake-up time, 8:25AM. The most commonly reported problem was falling sleep.

Conclusion: Pilot data suggests that children living on the South Side of Chicago have poor sleep-wake patterns. More data collection is in progress to better describe altered sleep patterns.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe altered sleep patterns and its impact on childhood obesity.

Keywords: Child Health, Family Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Chair and Assistant Professor of the Department of Health Studies in the College of Health Sciences at Chicago State University (CSU).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.