Adapting and Implementing Guidelines for Managing Sleep Disturbances in Incarcerated Youths

Background: Providers working in Utah Juvenile Justice Youth Services (JJYS) lack specific guidelines for managing sleep disturbances in the high-risk incarcerated youth population. Guidelines can give providers a consistent, effective, and evidence-based approach to managing sleep disturbances. Local Problem: Sleep disturbances are heightened in incarcerated youths, and providers working in Utah JJYS do not have guidelines for managing sleep disturbances. For this project, an educational presentation was developed, and sleep management guidelines were adapted and implemented for providers to use when addressing sleep disturbances in incarcerated youths. Methods: Sleep guidelines were adapted and implemented using evidence from literature, content experts, and findings from the pre-implementation team interview. The implementation team meeting included an educational presentation on sleep in incarcerated youths and the sleep management guidelines. A post-implementation team interview along with a retrospective chart review gathered information on the feasibility, satisfactoriness, usability, and effectiveness of the sleep management educational presentation and guidelines. Interventions: Sleep management guidelines were implemented and provided JJYS providers with a guided, evidence-based approach for managing sleep disturbances in incarcerated youths. Results: The retrospective chart review demonstrated an increase of 29.41% use of the components of the guidelines. There was insufficient evidence from the retrospective chart review to conclude that the providers changed their sleep management behavior following the educational presentation and implementation of the guidelines. The post-implementation team interview demonstrated the educational presentation and guidelines' feasibility, satisfactoriness, usability, and effectiveness in managing sleep in incarcerated youths. Conclusions: The educational presentation and guidelines were valuable in providing standardized, evidence-based sleep management practices for incarcerated youths. The implementation of the sleep management guidelines demonstrated provider satisfaction and the future sustainability of the guidelines.