The Sleep Patterns of Children and Adolescents with Chronic Conditions and Their Families: An Integrative Literature Review.

Sleep is of vital necessity for health, and it has a restorative and protective function for children and adolescents with chronic conditions and their families. The purpose of this study was to identify the scientific production on sleep patterns in children and adolescents with chronic conditions and their families. This integrative review was conducted between March and June 2022 using the databases of MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL and PsycINFO. The articles included were original papers published between January 2007 and mid-2022. Excluded were review studies that did not evaluate sleep and whose participants did not have chronic conditions or were not children, adolescents and/or their families. The searches returned 814 abstracts. After exclusions, 47 studies were selected to be read in full; of these, 29 were selected and were grouped empirically into four categories: major alterations in the sleep patterns of children and adolescents with chronic conditions; the relationship between sleep disorders and symptoms in children and adolescents with chronic conditions; the impaired sleep patterns of families of children and adolescents with chronic conditions; and sleep alterations and their relationship with other problems in families of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. All studies showed sleep pattern impairment in children and adolescents with chronic conditions as well as their families.

[Mothers' experiences and perspectives regarding their premature infant's stay at the neonatal intensive care unit]. / Vivências e perspectivas maternas na internação do filho prematuro em Unidade de Tratamento Intensivo Neonatal.

The purpose of this study was to learn the reason why mothers remain at the hospital throughout the stay of their premature infant at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The study was performed with twelve mothers to premature newborns at a municipal maternity hospital in Rio de Janeiro, in 2007. The methodological support used in the study was the Sociological Phenomenology of Alfred Schütz. The phenomenological interview was used to capture the mothers' discourse, whose intentional action was unveiled through the following categories: Taking care of the child--dealing with the challenge of having a small baby; Staying near the premature child--the mother's presence helps the child's recovery to be faster; Reciprocal help among mothers--reinforcing hope every day. Rooming-in care stands out as an innovative and relevant initiative during the hospital stay of preterm infants, and it is considered an environment for living together, sharing experiences, and giving mutual support throughout the long and difficult stay at the hospital.