AIM:To evaluate learners' and stakeholders' experiences and perspectives of two models of pre-nursing vocational education and training (VET) schemes on nursing workforce recruitment. DESIGN:Qualitative exploratory approach. METHODS:This qualitative study comprised online, semi-structured interviews of nine stakeholders and eight trainees from one United Kingdom region in which two pre-nursing VET scheme models were implemented. Interview data was thematically analysed and interpreted through a social capital theory lens. RESULTS:The interviews uncovered three key themes concerning the participants' experiences and perspectives on workforce recruitment: motivations and expectations, relational aspects of curriculum design and delivery and future possibilities. Established social structures were reported to be connected to education and clinical boundaries, enabling learners to build relationships with staff and patients and influencing their identity and career choices in healthcare. Limited placement opportunities hindered clinical learning, trainees from non-traditional backgrounds were underrepresented, and the validity of the academic preparation was unclear. CONCLUSION:The study makes a novel contribution by explaining how social assets can be created for all parties through two pre-nursing VET models when stakeholders' expectations and motivations align with learners' aspirations for a vocational route into nursing. This potentially leads to recruitment into nursing and healthcare pathways. The study's insights also showed a lack of recognition of this route to nursing and a lack of standardisation in access and educational delivery. The findings have implications for policy and educational practice. A deeper understanding of the socioeconomic factors affecting learners' nursing and healthcare career choices can enhance existing knowledge. Furthermore, studies are required to compare with other regions nationally and internationally to determine how pre-nursing VET schemes significantly address the global nurse recruitment crisis while considering local social and economic contexts. REPORTING METHOD:Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ). PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION:Stakeholder consultation during the study's design phase influenced the development of the research questions. Presenting the findings at a regional stakeholder workshop highlighted the key discussion points reported in the paper.

Introduction: Nursing students internationally entered challenging clinical placements during COVID-19. Lessons learnt could inform nurse education planning, particularly in preparation to implement future workforce plans.Aim: This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on nursing students undertaking clinical placements across the UK, particularly the extent to which nursing education prior to and during COVID-19 had prepared them for placements, and to distil key messages for future nursing education.Methods: A UK-wide qualitative study was conducted using audio or written placement diaries and post-placement telephone or online interviews with nursing students from all years of study and from adult, children, mental health and learning disability disciplines. Transcripts were analysed thematically using the Framework Approach. A pre-survey collected participants’ demographic information, details and expectations of their upcoming clinical placements, and how well prepared they felt. Ethical approval was gained.Results: Two hundred and sixteen nursing students from across the UK participated in the study. Five key themes were identified: ‘stepping up to the challenge and feeling the fear’, ‘new ways of learning’, ‘theory versus clinical practice’, ‘impact on clinical and academic partnerships’, and ‘concerns around demonstrating proficiency’.Discussion: Differing levels of preparedness of nursing students for clinical placement were reported. While many felt honoured to be a part of the nursing workforce during COVID-19, the rapidly changing clinical landscape led to unplanned changes to placements, lack of skills practice, uncertain practice supervision and distance learning which impacted on their confidence and perceived levels of competence leading to anxiety around demonstrating proficiency and achieving practice hours. Greater collaboration between universities, clinical placement teams, policy makers and regulators are key lessons post COVID19 to improve the support and preparedness of nursing students.

Child neglect has devastating enduring consequences for children and its identification and assessment remains challenging for practitioners. In England, assessment tools and standardised measures have been incorporated in welfare and safeguarding practice to help practitioners' critical observation and analysis and improve their assessments of risk. However, the picture regarding child neglect assessment practice trends on the ground remains unknown. This mapping exercise aimed to, firstly, provide an overview of the approaches to neglect practice and neglect assessment tools promoted by Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships (LSCPs) across England, and secondly, provide a brief examination of the types of tools advocated. An email survey was sent to the safeguarding leads or chairs of LSCPs in England (n = 121). Forty-two valid responses were received (34.7%). Almost all participating LSCPs had a Neglect Strategy in place and recommended the use of tools and chronologies when working with neglect. Eighteen individual neglect tools were reported with only two of these having undergone psychometric testing. The findings affirm that the use of tools or instruments with low or no testing for psychometric properties continues to be widespread in children's social care and welfare practice in England. Implications and recommendations for practice, policy and future research are discussed.

Abstract Background A Childhood Obesity Risk Estimation tool (SLOPE CORE) has been developed based on prediction models using routinely available maternity and early childhood data to estimate risk of childhood obesity at 4–5 years. This study aims to test the feasibility, acceptability and usability of SLOPE CORE within an enhanced health visiting (EHV) service in the UK, as one context in which this tool could be utilised. Methods A mixed methods approach was used to assess feasibility of implementing SLOPE CORE. Health Visitors (HVs) were trained to use the tool, and in the processes for recruiting parents into the study. HVs were recruited using purposive sampling and parents by convenience sampling. HVs and parents were invited to take part in interviews or focus groups to explore their experiences of the tool. HVs were asked to complete a system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire. Results Five HVs and seven parents took part in the study. HVs found SLOPE CORE easy to use with a mean SUS of 84.4, (n = 4, range 70–97.5) indicating excellent usability. Five HVs and three parents took part in qualitative work. The tool was acceptable and useful for both parents and HVs. Parents expressed a desire to know their child’s risk of future obesity, provided this was accompanied by additional information, or support to modify risk. HVs appreciated the health promotion opportunity that the tool presented and felt that it facilitated difficult conversations around weight, by providing ‘clinical evidence’ for risk, and placing the focus of the conversation onto the tool result, rather than their professional judgement. The main potential barriers to use of the tool included the need for internet access, and concerns around time needed to have a sensitive discussion around a conceptually difficult topic (risk). Conclusions SLOPE CORE could potentially be useful in clinical practice. It may support targeting limited resources towards families most at risk of childhood obesity. Further research is needed to explore how the tool might be efficiently incorporated into practice, and to evaluate the impact of the tool, and any subsequent interventions, on preventing childhood obesity.

This naturalistic study researched online help-seeking conversations between children and young people (CYP) experiencing emotional abuse and/or neglect (emotional maltreatment) and their peers. We believe this is the first study internationally to perform such research. Engagement with anonymous, online communities potentially offer children a source of knowledge and platform to express and understand their experiences with peers on their own terms, using their own words. This study, co-produced with 10 young co-researchers (YCoR) (aged 14-18 years), aimed to explore the experiences, psychological characteristics and interactions of CYP engaging with an online peer-peer message board service to explore theoretical and methodological approaches to examine such ‘real world’ data and inform service evaluation. Incorporating contextualised interpretations of the YCoR, a phenomenological approach explored how the experiences of abuse were constructed and questioned by CYP in online texts, and what motivates help-seeking. Findings detail the context of CYPs emotionally abusive or neglectful experiences, their language, disclosed mental health challenges, explicit and inferred help-seeking motivations. The co-produced methodology facilitated a nuanced interpretation of CYPs’ experiences to convey the impacts of emotional maltreatment disclosed in this anonymous environment. Validation with CYP with diverse experiences would facilitate further translation of findings.

Introduction: High-quality pre-registration student nurse training and development is integral to developing a sustainable and competent global nursing workforce. Internationally, student nurse recruitment rates have increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, attrition rates for student nurses are high. During the pandemic, many student nurses considered leaving the programme due to academic concerns, feeling overwhelmed, and doubting their clinical skills. Little was known about the extent to which nursing education prior to COVID-19 had prepared students for their role in managing the healthcare crisis or the impact on their resilience. Thus, this study aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the resilience levels of student nurses across the United Kingdom. Methods: Data were collected as part of a multi-site qualitative study named 'COV-ED Nurse' and involved pre-placement surveys, placement diaries, and post-placement interviews with nursing students. Student nurse participants were recruited from across the United Kingdom, from all years of study, and from all four nursing branches: children, adult, mental health, and learning disabilities. Participants were asked to complete a pre-placement survey that collected demographic details and information about their placement expectations. They were also asked to record a weekly audio-visual or written diary to describe their placement experiences, and, on completion of their placements, students were interviewed to explore their experiences of this time. Data were thematically analysed using the Framework Approach. Ethical approvals were obtained. Results: Two hundred and sixteen students took part in the wider study. The current study involved a subset of 59 students' data. Four main themes were identified: 'coping with increased levels of acuity', 'perceived risks of the pandemic', 'resilience when facing uncertainty and isolation', and 'the importance of coping mechanisms and support structures.' Discussion: From this study, we have generated insights that can be applied to nursing research, education, policy, and practice and identified the wide-ranging impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on student nurses and their abilities to remain resilient in an unstable environment. The value of communication and support networks from a wide range of sources was highlighted as key to navigating many uncertainties. In addition, the extent to which students were able to navigate their personal and professional roles and identities influenced their ability to cope with and continue along their training pathways.

Background Childhood obesity is a pressing public health issue. A Childhood Obesity Risk Estimation tool (SLOPE CORE) has been developed based on prediction models using routinely available maternity and early childhood data to estimate risk of childhood obesity at 4–5 years. This study aimed to test the feasibility, acceptability and usability of SLOPE CORE within an enhanced health visiting service for disadvantaged families. Methods A mixed methods approach was used. Purposively sampled Health Visitors (HVs) working within an enhanced health visiting programme were trained to use the tool. HVs then recruited parents from their caseload into the study (convenience sampling), used the tool and HVs completed a system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire. HVs and parents were invited to take part in interviews or focus groups to explore their experiences of the tool. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis (using NVivo software). Results Five HVs and seven parents took part in the study. HVs found the SLOPE CORE tool easy to use with a mean SUS of 84.4 (n=4, range 70–97.5), indicating excellent usability. Five HVs and three parents took part in qualitative work. The tool was acceptable and usable for both parents and HVs. Parents expressed a desire to know their child's risk of obesity, provided this was accompanied by additional information, or support, to modify risk. HVs appreciated the health promotion opportunity presented by the tool, and felt it facilitated difficult conversations around weight, by providing 'clinical evidence' for risk, placing the focus of the conversation onto the tool result, rather than their professional judgement. HVs were concerned that using the tool may negatively impact their relationship with the parent. After using the tool HVs agreed that, for the majority of parents, a sensitive approach would mitigate any potential negative impacts from using the tool. Potential barriers to use of the tool included the need for internet access, and concerns around time needed to have a sensitive discussion around a conceptually difficult topic (risk). Conclusion The SLOPE CORE tool was found to be feasible and user-friendly in this small sample. The tool has the potential to add value in clinical practice, and may support targeting limited resources towards families most at risk of childhood obesity. Further research is needed to explore how the tool might be efficiently incorporated into practice, and to evaluate the impact of the tool, and any subsequent interventions, on preventing childhood obesity.

SummaryCertain parental cognitions about child sleep and bedtime behaviours used with their child have been linked to poorer child sleep. However, previous research has focused on mothers and explored only a limited range of sleep‐related cognitions and practices. The present study investigated whether parental cognitions and sleep‐related practices (both in connection with their own sleep and their child's sleep), alongside the bedtime behaviours used with their child were associated with and/or were predictive of their child's sleep. Mothers and fathers from 44 families (with a child aged 12–24 months) separately completed questionnaires reporting (i) their cognitions (about their own sleep and their child's sleep), (ii) sleep‐related practices (used in connection with their own and their child's sleep) and (iii) bedtime behaviours used with their child. Child sleep was assessed through parental report and actigraphy. Both parents’ cognitions about their own sleep predicted cognitions about their child's sleep. Mothers’ own sleep‐related practices predicted the types of practices they used with their child. Different patterns of maternal and paternal variables influenced parental perceptions of their child having a sleep problem. The present findings highlight the importance of including mothers and fathers in child sleep research. Parents’ dysfunctional cognitions (their own sleep) and broader sleep‐related practices (their own and child sleep) should be considered when exploring influences on child sleep. Results have possible implications for targets of interventions for child sleep problems and also potential implications for theoretical models of child sleep.

Aims: To explore school nurses' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on: methods enabling service delivery, factors affecting school nurses' ability to support children, work with the interdisciplinary team, what pandemic-related practice changes should endure. Design/method: The study took a pragmatic approach. A purposive sample of 20 school nurses participated across ten virtual focus groups and one-to-one interviews. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Four overarching themes were identified: the impact and legacy of COVID-19 on children and families' health; the rapid restructure of service delivery; workforce challenges; the school nurse profile before, during, and after the pandemic. Conclusions: Recommendations are made for considered use of virtual modes to enhance rather than replace in-person practice, building a robust evidence base that can inform future commissioning, clear guidance regarding the boundaries of school nursing practice in the context of increasing workloads, investing in the school nurse workforce going forwards.

School nurses are public health specialists with an integral role in the safeguarding of children and young people. This study gathered information about school nurses' approaches to overcome practice restrictions as a result of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey was administered to school nurses across the United Kingdom. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively. Qualitative data (free-text responses to open-ended questions) were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Seventy-eight participant responses were included in the analysis. Quantitative data highlighted increased workloads; decreased contact with service users; and difficulties in identifying safeguarding needs and working with known vulnerable children. Through qualitative data analysis, five themes were identified: a move from preventive to reactive school nursing; professional challenges of safeguarding in the digital context; the changing nature of inter-professional working; an increasing workload; and reduced visibility and representation of the child. The findings call for advocacy by policymakers and professional organisations representing school nurses to enable this professional group to lead in the evolving public health landscape; for commissioning that recognises the school nurse as a specialist public health practitioner; and for sufficient numbers of school nurses to respond to the emergent and ongoing health needs of children and young people.

AIM:To synthesise what is known from current international evidence about how parents are supported by significant others when they are faced with making decisions about their child's cancer care.BACKGROUND:Parents are faced with making challenging decisions when their child has cancer and may benefit from support. Whilst previous research has comprehensively explored how healthcare professionals can offer support, little attention has been given to how support may be informally provided from a parent's network of significant others.METHOD:An integrative literature review was undertaken and reported following the ENTREQ framework. Literature was identified from comprehensive database searching across four relevant databases (CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO and British Nursing Database) and hand-searching reference lists of retrieved studies. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were critically appraised and then analysed using the Constant Comparative Analysis method.RESULTS:Twenty-six articles were included in the review. Two overarching themes were identified. Theme 1-Dimensions of Decision-Making support-included three sub-themes: informational, emotional and instrumental mechanisms of support. Theme 2-Expectations of Decision-Making support-identified that parents' expectations of their own role, and the role of their significant others, affected how decision-making was supported.CONCLUSIONS:Parents may seek and receive support from various significant members of their network, but there is a fine line between supportive and unsupportive behaviours.RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE:Each family's unique personal, social and cultural context strongly impacts on their support needs, and nurses and other healthcare professionals should be mindful of how parents may access support from their significant others. Further in-depth research around this area would contribute important knowledge around parents' support needs.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:People living with dementia have historically been excluded from qualitative research and their voices ignored due to the perception that a person with dementia is not able to express their opinions, preferences and feelings. Research institutions and organizations have contributed by adopting a paternalistic posture of overprotection. Furthermore, traditional research methods have proven to be exclusionary towards this group. The objective of this paper is to address the issue of inclusion of people with dementia in research and provide an evidence-based framework for dementia researchers based on the five principles of human rights: Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination and equality, Empowerment and Legality (PANEL).DESIGN:This paper adapts the PANEL principles to the research context, and uses evidence from the literature to create a framework for qualitative research in people with dementia. This new framework aims to guide dementia researchers in designing studies around the needs of people with dementia, to improve involvement and participation, facilitate research development and maximize research outcomes.RESULTS:A checklist is presented with questions related to the five PANEL principles. These questions cover ethical, methodological and legal issues that researchers may need to consider while developing qualitative research for people with dementia.CONCLUSIONS:The proposed checklist offers a series of questions and considerations to facilitate the development of qualitative research in patients with dementia. It is inspired by current human rights work of recognized dementia researchers and organizations who have been directly involved in policy development. Future studies need to explore its utility in improving participation, facilitating ethics approvals and ensuring that outcomes are relevant to people with dementia.

The responsiveness of professionals working with children and families is of key importance for child maltreatment early identification. However, this might be undermined when multifaceted circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce interdisciplinary educational activities. Thanks to technological developments, digital platforms seem promising in dealing with new challenges for professionals' training. We examined a digital approach to child maltreatment training through the ERICA project experience (Stopping Child Maltreatment through Pan-European Multiprofessional Training Programme). ERICA has been piloted during the pandemic in seven European centers involving interconnected sectors of professionals working with children and families. The training consisted of interactive modules embedded in a digital learning framework. Different aspects (technology, interaction, and organization) were evaluated and trainers' feedback on digital features was sought. Technical issues were the main barrier, however, these did not significantly disrupt the training. The trainers perceived reduced interaction between participants, although distinct factors were uncovered as potential favorable mediators. Based on participants' subjective experiences and perspectives, digital learning frameworks for professionals working with children and families (such as the ERICA model nested in its indispensable adaptation to an e-learning mode) can represent a novel interactive approach to empower trainers and trainees to tackle child maltreatment during critical times such as a pandemic, and as an alternative to more traditional learning frameworks.

This integrative review aims to evaluate the experiences of health and social care practitioners with regard to how they exercise professional curiosity in child protection practice. Professional curiosity gained significant currency following the Munro Review of Child Protection (2010) in England, as a means of seeking clarity on what is happening within a family. However, a recurrent finding from child safeguarding practice reviews is that practitioners continue to struggle to exercise curiosity. This is evident within both the United Kingdom and international literature, although descriptors for the concept may differ. This study attempted to identify facilitators and barriers to applying professional curiosity to provide a greater understanding of this theoretical concept. Title and abstract review of 1428 articles identified from databases and 11 from other sources resulted in 52 papers for full-text review. The quality of each article was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool for qualitative studies, the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for quantitative/mixed method studies and the Joanna Briggs framework for theoretical/opinion papers. Key findings were recorded in the Summary Table of Literature Reviewed. Data extracts were thematically analysed. Twenty-four papers predominantly from the UK, but also from Australia, Italy, Sweden and USA formed the data set. Overarching themes that emerged from the thematic analysis included: noticing dissonance, emitting curiosity, constructing meaning, facilitators, individual professional challenges, organisational and macro-level influences and conceptual development. This review demonstrated that professional curiosity is multifaceted and involves a whole system approach, from empowered, knowledgeable and competent frontline practitioners to creative, innovative and empathic organisations, that value staff contributions and place the child's best interests at the forefront of service development. Recommendations are made for practice and further research.

BACKGROUND:Antibiotics savelives and have been effectively and reliably used for decades to treat infections and improve health outcomes. This trust in antibiotics has contributed to over prescribing and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Significant amounts of antibiotics are still widely prescribed and taken, especially in young children. However, there is a paucity of existing literature relating to how mothers, who are the main carers of young children, may be influenced by their trust in antibiotics.AIMS:To explore what factors influence mothers' decisions to seek antibiotics for their young children.DESIGN:Qualitative case study using postcode boundaries.METHODS:Thematic analysis of qualitative data from mothers of children under 5, recruited via community playgroups within the case. Data were collected between October 2018 and May 2019, from six focus groups (n = 19) and one-to-one interviews (n = 14). Thematic analysis of the data consisted of six phases: data familiarization; generating initial codes; searching for themes; reviewing themes; defining and naming themes; and producing the report.RESULTS:Mothers were influenced by their belief and trust in antibiotics. Antibiotics were identified as symbolic of recovery, healing and of providing protection and safety.CONCLUSION:By understanding the symbolic power of antibiotics on maternal decision making, all antibiotic prescribers may be able to offer and provide reassuring alternative and acceptable treatment options to mothers, rather than using antibiotics.IMPACT:This paper introduces the concept of antibiotics as powerful symbols which influence antibiotic seeking behaviour. This in turn may result in inappropriate use of antibiotics which contributes to the risk of antimicrobial resistance developing. Although the majority of antibiotics are still prescribed by doctors, the number of nurse prescribers has been increasing. Therefore, an increased awareness of antibiotic symbolism, in all prescribing clinicians, is important to enable future local and national strategies to be developed, to support maternal decision making and reduce antibiotic seeking behaviour.

INTRODUCTION:Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with poorer health outcomes throughout life. In England, health visiting is a long-standing, nationally implemented service that aims to prevent and mitigate the impact of adversity in early childhood, including for children exposed to ACEs. A range of health visiting service delivery practices exist across England (from the minimum five recommended contacts to tailored intensive interventions), but there is a lack of evidence on who receives what services, how this varies across local authorities (LAs) and the associated outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This study will integrate findings from analysis of individual-level, deidentified administrative data related to hospital admissions (Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)) and health visiting contacts (Community Services Data Set (CSDS)), aggregate LA-level data, in-depth case studies in up to six LAs (including interviews with mothers), a national survey of health visiting services, and workshops with stakeholders and experts by experience. We will use an empirical-to-conceptual approach to develop a typology of health visiting service delivery in England, starting with a data-driven classification generated from latent class analysis of CSDS-HES data, which will be refined based on all other available qualitative and quantitative data. We will then evaluate which models of health visiting are most promising for mitigating the impact of ACEs on child and maternal outcomes using CSDS-HES data for a cohort of children born on 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2019. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:The University College London Institute of Education Research Ethics Committee approved this study. Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and summaries will be provided to key stakeholders including the funders, policy-makers, local commissioners and families.

This naturalistic study researched online help-seeking conversations between children and young people (CYP) experiencing emotional abuse and/or neglect (emotional maltreatment) and their peers. We believe this is the first study internationally to perform such research. Engagement with anonymous, online communities potentially offer children a source of knowledge and platform to express and understand their experiences with peers on their own terms, using their own words. This study, co-produced with 10 young co-researchers (YCoR) (aged 14-18 years), aimed to explore the experiences, psychological characteristics and interactions of CYP engaging with an online peer-peer message board service to explore theoretical and methodological approaches to examine such ‘real world’ data and inform service evaluation. Incorporating contextualised interpretations of the YCoR, a phenomenological approach explored how the experiences of abuse were constructed and questioned by CYP in online texts, and what motivates help-seeking. Findings detail the context of CYPs emotionally abusive or neglectful experiences, their language, disclosed mental health challenges, explicit and inferred help-seeking motivations. The co-produced methodology facilitated a nuanced interpretation of CYPs’ experiences to convey the impacts of emotional maltreatment disclosed in this anonymous environment. Validation with CYP with diverse experiences would facilitate further translation of findings.

Aim: To examine how school nurse practice evolved as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.Design: A scoping review of international literature, conducted and reported in line with Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework.Data Sources: Searches were conducted in September 2021. Ten databases were searched: The British Nursing Database, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Consumer Health Database, Health and Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, Public Health, PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science. Relevant grey literature was identified through hand searching.Review Methods: A minimum of three reviewers independently screened articles and two reviewers independently undertook data extraction, with any decisions made collaboratively with the wider team. Much of the literature was not empirical work and so it was not possible to apply a traditional quality appraisal framework.Results: Searches identified 554 papers (after deduplication) which were screened against title and abstract. Following the full-text review, 38 articles underwent data extraction and analysis. The review findings highlighted that school nurses adapted their practice to ensure they were able to continue providing their formal and informal school health offer to children, young people and their families and continued working closely with the multidisciplinary team. In addition, the expanded public health role generated by Covid-19 for school nurses' work was considerable, multi-layered and added to their routine workload. School nurses displayed resilience, adaptability and creativity in their response to delivering services during Covid-19.Conclusion: School nurses took on a leading public health role during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some developments and practices were highlighted as beneficial to continue beyond the pandemic. However, formal evaluation is needed to identify which practices may merit integration into routine practice. Continued investment in staff and infrastructure will be essential to ensuring school nurses continue to expand their practice and influence as public health experts.

Child sleep is a common parental concern and there is an array of resources available to parents. However, an exploration of UK parents' help-seeking behaviours around child sleep is lacking. This study sought to identify the resources parents use to seek information and help for child sleep, as well as to explore what factors parents prefer about certain sources and their reservations about using other resources. Parents of 6-36 month old children residing in the United Kingdom (UK) completed an online questionnaire between October 2015 and October 2016 about their use, opinions and experiences regarding resources for child sleep. Quantitative data were descriptively analysed and thematic analysis was conducted on parents' open-ended text responses. Participants were 266 UK parents (97% mothers). Parents' ages ranged from 21 to 45 years (M = 33.49 years, SD = 4.71) and all resided in the United Kingdom (UK). General Internet searches were the most commonly reported source used by 47% of parents with a range of other informal resources also frequently consulted. Health Visitors (HVs) were the most accessed healthcare professional reportedly consulted by 38% of parents. Seven themes represented parental preferences for their resource use. Most strongly endorsed included a desire for information from other parents, particularly those with practical experience and accessing information that aligned with their parenting values. Parents preferred sources that provided support and reassurance, as well as those that afforded parents the ability to select relevant elements from a range of information. Seven themes represented parents' reservations about resources. Most strongly endorsed were concerns about reliability, being judged and challenges associated with filtering vast amounts of information. Parents reported having reservations towards sources if they had a previous negative experience with the source. Possible implications of the findings and specific suggestions about how existing and future resources could be adapted to better meet parents' needs are highlighted.