Back to Sleep Programme
Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute is very grateful to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Singapore for being the sole grantor for the Back to Sleep programme. This programme aims to improve the sleep quality of children with complex medical needs. Children with severe neurological conditions and multiple medical needs are not able to turn or reposition themselves comfortably while sleeping. Their conditions manifest in abnormal muscle tones and postures, which often results in significant sleep disturbances and thus, short sleep duration. As parents have to keep waking up to reposition their child several times a night, the entire family then suffers from chronic sleep deprivation.
The Back to Sleep programme involves a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate each child's risk factors and to determine if sleep quality can be improved by providing a more comfortable sleeping surface with greater support. The team includes doctors, physiotherapists, nurses, the patients as well as their parents and caregivers. After other medical and behavioural causes of sleep disturbance are ruled out, the children are then fitted with the most appropriate sleep system to help improve their sleep.
The Back to Sleep programme aligns with our mission to provide excellent clinical care for children with medical needs as well as with RMHC's mission of supporting programmes that "directly improve the health and well-being of children". As this programme not only benefits the child but also the caregivers, it illustrates RHMC's belief that "when you change a child's life, you change a family's, which can change a community and, ultimately, the world".
In addition to clinically documented improved sleep quality and duration in these children, the project has made a positive impact on family life, as reported by some of the parents of the children and one of the older beneficiaries. In several families, the improved sleep quality had a huge effect on the medically frail children who have displayed improvements not only in mood but also appetite, thereby improving their quality of life. Parents and caregivers have also reported that they are better rested, underlining the importance of this intervention in improving family function.
In conclusion, a total of 48 children were direct beneficiaries of this programme, and an additional 210 family members and care givers were positively impacted.
Image 1 (from left): An example of one of the sleep systems. Images 2, 3, 4 and 5: They are 2 of the 48 direct beneficiaries of the Back to Sleep Programme. In both patients, their conditions manifest in abnormal muscle tones, movements and postures, which often result in significant sleep disturbances and poor sleep duration. Images 2 and 4 show the patients with poor postures when there is no support system, causing extra strain on their spines, body hips and knees. Images 3 and 5 show that their postures are supported, where their arms, body and legs are more relaxed, allowing them to sleep more comfortably.