Efficacy of a Psychoeducational Intervention to Improve Sleep Health Among University Students

Laval University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Psychoeducational Waitlist Control; Psychoeducational

Treatments: Behavioral: Sleep health education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06963996

2023-092

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a psychoeducational intervention targeting the determinants of university students' sleep health. It is conducted as part of a doctoral research project.

The intervention consists of three structured sessions delivered over three weeks, with additional online follow-ups. Each session lasts 1.5 hours and takes place in the evening, with a one-week interval between sessions.

Session 1 focuses on providing fundamental knowledge about sleep health. Session 2 introduces behavioral strategies to improve sleep health and asks participants to implement behavior change intentions.

Session 3 reviews the implementation of the intention, the changes made or not, and addresses the relationship between stress and sleep, along with coping strategies.

Participants are required to complete online questionnaires and a sleep diary at multiple time points: before the intervention, immediately after, and up to three months post-intervention. These assessments measure sleep habits, beliefs about sleep, and mental health indicators.

Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups:

Intervention group, which receives the psychoeducational program first. Waitlist control group, which completes an additional follow-up before receiving the intervention.

The study design allows for a controlled evaluation of the intervention's impact on sleep-related behaviors and mental health outcomes.

Full description

A process evaluation will be conducted immediately after the 3 weeks intervention to assess participants' comprehension, adherence to the intervention, as well as the accessibility and relevance of intervention content. Moreover, in terms of logistics, this involves evaluating the premises used, the facilitator, the size of the group, the number and length of sessions, the face-to-face offer, and the use of teaching aids such as manuals during the sessions. These data are collected to inform potential improvements in future iterations of the intervention and are not included as outcome measures.

Enrollment: 92 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 30 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Students registered at Université Laval (either part-time or full-time)
• Aged between 18-30 years old
• With or without any sleep difficulties

Exclusion criteria

• Use of prescription sleep medication
• Diagnosed medical condition (diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, etc.)
• Currently with a suicidal risk

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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92 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to the intervention group will receive first the intervention. They will complete various assessment at baseline (T0), post-intervention after the 3 weeks of intervention (T1), and 3 months after the end of the intervention (T2).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sleep health education

Waitlist control group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to the waitlist control group complete a baseline assessment (T0), a second assessment after 3 weeks of waiting (T1), and then receive the intervention. They are assessed again after the intervention (T2) and at 3-month follow-up (T3). This design allows for pre- and post-intervention comparisons while ensuring delayed access to the program.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sleep health education