UC Nursing researcher receives $3.4 million grant to study sleep health in young children
Cincinnati Business Courier reports federal research funding for Dr. Randi Bates
Randi Bates, PhD, assistant professor in the UC College of Nursing, received a five-year $3.4 million grant to study how socio ecological factors may influence sleep health in young children.
Her research funding was reported by the Cincinnati Business Courier.
The award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will allow a team led by Bates to examine the effects of racism, housing instability and peak levels of screen media use and stress impact sleep health of toddlers.
They will also recruit 550 racially and economically diverse families from the metropolitan regions of Cincinnati and Columbus to conduct a micro-longitudinal study over a six-month period to examine sleep health in children aged 20 months to 48 months.
Dr. Randi Bates. Photo by Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
“Media use is at an all-time high among kids; it’s not going away,” Bates told the Business Courier for a story. “So, then we also have to recognize factors related to the living environment such as parents needing to use media to keep their child safe. Do they feel they can’t let their child outside too much because it’s not safe where they live?”
Bates said the goal of examining these factors and discovering possible links is to be able to eventually give resources back to parents and families to help their children sleep. Research findings will be presented to scientific peers for quality review, then back to participants for additional feedback or insight and then to policy making audiences in order to bring attention to the needs of these families and demonstrate a need for resources.
Read the full Cincinnati Business Courier story online. Request a PDF by emailing cedric.ricks@uc.edu
Learn more about research from Dr. Randi Bates online.
Featured top photo of a parent and child sleeping is courtesy of Istock.
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