Acceptability of Wide Awake Parenting: A psycho-educational intervention to manage parental fatigue

Abstract

Objective: This article reports on the pilot evaluation of Wide Awake Parenting (WAP), a novel intervention to assist parents of young children to manage fatigue. It was trialled with parents of infants and children (aged 0–4 years) with sleep and settling problems. Background: Fatigue is a common health concern for parents of young children that has the potential to impact upon daily functioning, mental health and parenting. Methods: Forty-nine parents attending a residential parenting programme for child sleep problems participated in a pre–post evaluation of a workshop targeting the management of fatigue. Results: High acceptability and satisfaction of the workshop content and delivery was reported. Following participation in the workshop, parents reported a significant increase in their perceived importance, self-efficacy and intention to engage in self-care behaviours to manage fatigue. Conclusions: The results of this pilot are encouraging and provide initial support for WAP, and scope for further development and rigorous evaluation.

Keywords:

• fatigue
• well-being
• parents
• psycho-education
• intervention