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. 2021 Sep 30:8:2333794X211049758.
doi: 10.1177/2333794X211049758. eCollection 2021.

Night-time Screen Media Use in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Arif Somani  1 , Aurora Wiseman  1 , Mary-Grace Hickman  1 , Sarah J Militello  1 , Rebecca E Wiersma  1 , Michelle T Vu  1 , Lexie Goertzen  1 , Michael Shyne  1 , Maria Kroupina  1
Affiliations

Night-time Screen Media Use in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Arif Somani et al. Glob Pediatr Health. .

Abstract

This prospective observational study quantified screen media use within the night-time pre-sleep period in a pediatric intensive care unit and postulated possible implications. Seventy-five patients between the ages of newborn to 19 years old were observed 5 evenings per week for 3 weeks. Trained observers documented the patient's screen use, type of screen used, screen engagement, sleep state, light level, and parental presence. Patients in the ICU had on average 65 minutes of screen media use, per evening. The total screen media use averaged 59 minutes for the 0 to18-month age group; 83 minutes for the 18 to 24-month age group; 66 minutes for 2 to 6 year olds; 72 minutes for 6 to 13 year olds; and 74 minutes for those above 13. This research demonstrates that children are engaging in more screen time during the night hours than is recommended by the AAP.

Keywords: critical care; hospital; intensive care units; pediatrics; screen time; sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion of participants asleep, with screen median on, and actively engaging in screen media during the observational period by age group.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Proportion of total participants asleep, with screen media on, and actively engaging in screen media during the night-time observational period.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Comparison of participants asleep and light present during the pre-sleep observational period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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