PONE-D-24-19385Single parenthood, sleep, and chronic conditions in Ghana: The importance of health-related quality of life and functional limitationsPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Owusu-Sarpong,

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PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: I Don't Know

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This study is relevant and was presented in an intelligible fashion. The introduction was engaging and sets a strong foundation for the article. The conclusion and implications also tie back to the main points and offers insights for future research.

Reviewer #2: The findings of this study can inform public health policies to improve sleep hygiene in countries where single parenthood is prevalent. I suggest some comments for improved readability of the paper.

Title

The title seems to suggest that single parenthood is the variable of interest in this study, which is not the case. In fact, single parents are the study population. Please change the title to reflect the study design.

Abstract

Please do not introduce an acronym without spelling the full term at its first appearance.

“no study has reported the serial mediation effects of physiological factors in this association.” I am not sure if I would categorize HRQoL and functional limitations as physiological factors.

“the hypothesized association”? Where are the hypotheses?

Methods

Is the dependent variable the number of chronic conditions? Please explain clearly.

Why did the authors use the sum of EQ-5D scores instead of the EQ-5D index, which can be calculated using the value set and is commonly used as a continuous variable?

I am not sure if you can sum EQ-5D responses (1, 2, to 3) and use the sum as a continues variable to conduct Pearsons correlation and OLS. That is because EQ-5D responses are not an interval scale variable.

Lines 138-139. If 6 items are measured on 1 or 2, the total score should range from 6 to 12. Please check the accuracy of the statement.

Discussion

This section is a bit wordy. For example, can you summarize the review of the literature (Line 243-262), which seems a bit lengthy?. In general, streamlining the discussion would enhance readability.

Specific comments

Line 83, administered is duplicative

Line 108, what does the acronym SSA stand for?

Line 153 The first mention of the acronym should be explained.

Line 166, Cis � Cis

Line 173, confidence intervals � Cis

Line 182, “gainfully employed” sounds like a colloquial expression. Can you just use “employed”?

Line 185, can you add the unit for physical activity?

Line 231, What do you mean by “in a dose-response manner”?

Line 324, check the reference style.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Araba Aseye Ahiabu

Reviewer #2: No

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Sleep problems and chronic conditions in single parents in Ghana: Serial mediating roles of health-related quality of life and functional limitations

PONE-D-24-19385R1

Dear Dr.  Owusu-Sarpong,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Zulkarnain Jaafar

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #2: No

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