None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Improving healthy sleep practices in paramedics: is a digital intervention effective?' aims to investigate whether a mobile phone application (Sleepfit) can improve the sleep and healthy sleep practices of a group of shift working paramedics. Given the requirements of shift work, this group is working and sleeping at non-traditional times, and as such, can experience disruptions to circadian rhythms. This disruption can further impact their sleep, and lead to a wide range of negative health and wellbeing effects. Therefore, improving the sleep and healthy sleep habits of this group is important, and our study aims to achieve this through a 14-day intervention period available through Sleepfit. We hypothesis that, following use of the app, shift working paramedics will demonstrate improved sleep, both in quantity and quality, as well as increased engagement with healthy sleep practices.
Interventions
Sleepfit is a mobile application (m-health intervention) being utilised in an attempt to improve the healthy sleep practices amongst shift working paramedics. Sleepfit contains educational content that has been developed by sleep researchers, utilising current, best-practice literature. Specifically, it contains educational material (in the form of quizzes, short reading items etc.) that aim to address the healthy sleep practices of: consistency of sleep schedule, daytime napping, consumption of
Sleepfit is a mobile application (m-health intervention) being utilised in an attempt to improve the healthy sleep practices amongst shift working paramedics. Sleepfit contains educational content that has been developed by sleep researchers, utilising current, best-practice literature. Specifically, it contains educational material (in the form of quizzes, short reading items etc.) that aim to address the healthy sleep practices of: consistency of sleep schedule, daytime napping, consumption of caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, eating a healthy diet, engaging in regular exercise, engaging in relaxing bedtime activities, and maintaining a cool, dark, and quiet bedroom environment. Sleepfit will aim to improve engagement with these healthy sleep practices through a range of educational formats, including interactive reading material and quizzes. Participants who have access to Sleepfit (those in the intervention group) will be able to access the application on their smartphone device at any time of the day or night, and in any location of their choosing, over a 2-week period. Participants will have access to Sleepfit at no cost, and are free to utilise as much or as little as they see fit. However, they will be encouraged to complete a sleep diary each day, which will require approximately 5 minutes of active usage. Participant usage will be assessed through app analytics, with data collected including number and nature of activities completed and number of diary entries made during the intervention period. This intervention is based on an existing Sleepfit product, which has been tailored for use in shift working individuals. The original mobile application has been successfully utilised in individuals who work standard hours (i.e., 9am-5pm), and alterations have been made in collaboration between sleep researchers and Sleepfit developers. Pre- and post-test measures (online questionnaires) will be utilised to assess a range of health and lifestyle factors, mainly: sleep quality and quantity and engagement with healthy sleep practices (those listed earlier), as well as intervention engagement metrics.
Sponsors
Central Queensland University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Current employee with Queensland Ambulance Service, acting in operational or communications role (and therefore engaging in shift work) which includes: on-road paramedics, emergency call-takers and dispatchers, non-acute patient transport services, various on-road managerial roles
Exclusion criteria
Queensland Ambulance Service employees who: are not engaging in shift work (e.g., those in managerial roles who are office-based and work set, standard hours), or do not have daily access to a smartphone.
Outcome results
None listed