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CLINICAL TRIAL article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1496827

Telehealth based parental support over six months improves physical activity and sleep quality in children with autism: A randomized controlled trial

Provisionally accepted
Xin Shen Xin Shen 1,2Peiying Huang Peiying Huang 1,2*Qian Liu Qian Liu 1,2*Yin Guo Yin Guo 1,2*Lan Zheng Lan Zheng 1,2*
  • 1 Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Sports Rehabilitation, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • 2 College of Physical Education, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: Sleep disturbances are prevalent in autistic children. The emergence of telehealth offers new possibilities for remote professional intervention. By combining telehealth with parental support, this study aims to explore a novel family-based model to enhance moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and improve sleep quality in children with autism. Methods: Thirty-four autistic children (mean age = 15.7 years) were randomly assigned to either a 6-month intervention group or a control group. Both groups received standard physical education classes at school. The intervention group received additional after-school telehealth support. MVPA and sleep quality were assessed one week before the intervention and at the six-month follow-up. Results: After six months, children in the intervention group nearly doubled their daily MVPA compared to the control group (Cohen's d = 8.34, CI95% = 6.17 to 10.52). Actigraphy-assessed sleep efficiency was notably higher (d = 2.35, CI95% = 1.44 to 3.26), and there were reductions in wake time (d = 1.65, CI95% = 0.84 to 2.46), sleep fragmentation (d = 0.80, CI95% = 0.07 to 1.52), and sleep latency (d = 0.82, CI95% = 0.09 to 1.54) were all reduced. These improvements in objective sleep metrics were corroborated by subjective assessments using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (d = 0.86, CI95% = 0.13 to 1.59). Conclusions: Telehealth combined with parental support addresses barriers to enhancing health behaviors at home. This innovative model not only improves after-school MVPA and sleep quality in autistic children but also holds significant potential for benefiting other populations requiring remote support. (clinical registration: NCT06444659

    Keywords: Exercise, Health Behavior, insomnia, Sleep disturbance, Telemedicine

    Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 15 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shen, Huang, Liu, Guo and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Peiying Huang, Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Sports Rehabilitation, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, Hunan Province, China
    Qian Liu, Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Sports Rehabilitation, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, Hunan Province, China
    Yin Guo, Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Sports Rehabilitation, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, Hunan Province, China
    Lan Zheng, Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Sports Rehabilitation, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, Hunan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.