Sleep Well Be Well: A Digital Solution for Child Sleep Challenges

Introduction:

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Sleep is crucial for children’s growth and development, yet many children face sleep problems that can disrupt their daily lives. Issues like difficulty falling asleep or waking during the night can lead to serious consequences, affecting mental health, quality of life, and learning abilities. Child sleep problems impact around 30% of typically developing children and an alarming 70% of children with neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. Despite the high occurrence of these issues, many families struggle to find timely and effective support for their children. An accessible sleep app delivering a digital coaching program offers families a practical and evidence-based way to address these challenges.

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The challenge:

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Addressing child sleep problems can be terrifying for parents, especially when it comes to managing these issues from home. Identifying and treating sleep disorders often requires input from specialists, which can be difficult to access. Many sleep disorder clinics have waiting lists extending from 6 to 12 months, making it hard for families to access the support they need.

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The solution:

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In response to this challenge, WeGuide partnered with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) to create the Sleep Well Be Well (SWBW) digital coaching program. This innovative solution leveraged WeGuide’s technology to provide evidence-based strategies through an accessible sleep app tailored for children aged 3–13. The SWBW mobile app was co-designed with insights from both WeGuide and MCRI, integrating evidence-based strategies through engaging instructional animations, practical tasks, videos, and informative case studies. To ensure this digital coaching program met the needs of families, WeGuide’s implementation partner, Curve Tomorrow, collaborated closely with the SWBW team to understand exactly what was required for this digital therapeutic. Through user experience workshops and consultations, they gathered valuable insights that were transformed into a functional platform tailored for optimal user experience. 

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The outcomes:

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The platform by WeGuide for the SWBW program has delivered impactful results in helping families manage child sleep issues. Parents now have access to a resource that effectively navigates the challenges of establishing healthy sleep routines. WeGuide’s platform also decreases reliance on traditional sleep clinics, reducing the burden of long waiting periods. Families using the SWBW app have reported improvements in their children’s sleep quality, which potentially leads to better mental health and an overall higher quality of life for both children and parents. Clinical studies conducted in partnership with MCRI further highlight the program’s success, showing a 43% reduction in moderate-to-severe sleep problems among participating families.

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Conclusion:

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The Sleep Well Be Well digital coaching program demonstrates how innovative solutions can close barriers in healthcare access and empower families to address children’s sleep challenges effectively. By leveraging WeGuide’s technology and evidence-based strategies from MCRI, this innovative sleep app provides a practical, accessible alternative to traditional clinical approaches.