Established Evidence Results

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROFESSIONAL_CAREGIVER, Educational Material (caregiver), Provision of Safe Sleep Item, COMMUNITY, Presentation

Intervention Description: This study assessed the feasibility, acceptability and initial outcomes of Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers for women who speak Spanish. The Safe Sleep Baby Showers use the culture and tradition of celebratory group events to connect pregnant or recently delivered women with perinatal community resources, build social support networks, and learn about the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safe sleep recommendations. The baby showers include a crib demonstration facilitated by a safe sleep instructor or board member from the Kansas Infant Death and SIDS (KIDS) Network. All education and materials are in Spanish, and include a safe sleep PowerPoint presentation and a video on the ABCs of Safe Sleep (alone, back, clutter-free crib; available at KIDSKS.org). For this study, 106 pregnant or recently delivered women who spoke Spanish completed pre- and post-assessments after attending at least one of six Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers held in Sedgwick County, Kansas. Participants who complete the post-assessment received a free safety-approved portable crib and wearable blanket, as well as infant safe sleep education handouts and materials (eg, door hangers) in Spanish.

Intervention Results: Participants had a high school diploma/General Educational Diploma (GED) or less (75.3%), and were uninsured (52.1%) or had Medicaid (n = 49; 33.6%). The majority reported being very satisfied (n = 130; 89.0%) or satisfied (n = 8; 5.5%). Compared to baseline, significant increases in intentions and confidence to follow the AAP Safe Sleep Recommendations were observed following the events. The majority of participants reported intending to place their infant on the back to sleep (98.6%), use only a safe surface (crib, portable crib, bassinet; 99.3%), and only include safe items (firm mattress, fitted sheet; 93.5%) (all p < .001).

Conclusion: Study findings support both feasibility and acceptability of modifying Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate education for women who speak Spanish. Initial outcomes suggest increased intentions to follow safe sleep recommendations.

Setting: Community baby showers in Sedgwick County, Kansas

Population of Focus: Pregnant women and recently delivered mothers

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROFESSIONAL_CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Provision of Safe Sleep Item, COMMUNITY, Presentation

Intervention Description: With the support of the Kansas Infant Death SIDS (KIDS) Network, safe sleep instructors in four rural counties (Geary, Cloud, Harvey, and Shawnee) held virtual Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers in 2020. Safe sleep, breastfeeding, and tobacco cessation/avoidance education was provided to participants regardless of education format. In-person events were interactive by nature, using presentation and demonstration, but also included video components. For virtual events, Geary and Cloud counties chose to provide educational videos and prerecorded presentations to participants (passive). Harvey and Shawnee counties held real-time interactive education over a virtual platform. Data was collected via pre- and postsurveys. Those who completed both surveys received a portable crib and wearable blanket.

Intervention Results: Based on data from 145 in-person and 74 virtual participants, virtual participants were more likely to be married (P<.001) and have private insurance (P<.001), and were less likely to report tobacco use (P<.001). Both event formats significantly increased knowledge and intentions regarding safe sleep and avoidance of secondhand smoke (all P≤.001). Breastfeeding intentions did not change. Differences were observed between in-person and virtual meetings regarding confidence in the ability to avoid secondhand smoke (in-person: 121/144, 84% vs virtual: 53/74, 72%; P=.03), intention to breastfeed ≥6 months (in-person: 79/128, 62% vs virtual: 52/66, 79%; P=.008), and confidence in the ability to breastfeed ≥6 months (in-person: 58/123, 47% vs virtual: 44/69, 64%; P=.02).

Conclusion: Although both event formats demonstrated increased knowledge/intentions to follow safe sleep recommendations, virtual events may further marginalize groups who are at high risk for poor birth outcomes. Strategies to increase technology access, recruit priority populations, and ensure disparities are not exacerbated will be critical for the implementation of future virtual events.

Setting: Four rural counties in Kansas

Population of Focus: Pregnant or postpartum women

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROVIDER/PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, Assessment (Provider), HOSPITAL, Quality Improvement, Policy/Guideline (Hospital), Crib Card, CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Assessment (caregiver), Educational Material (caregiver)

Intervention Description: The aims of this project were to increase the percentage of infants following safe sleep practices in the NICU before discharge and to determine if improving compliance with these practices would influence parent behavior at home.

Intervention Results: Audit data showed that there was a significant increase in the rate of supine positioning from 39% at baseline to 83% at follow-up (p<0.001). Parental surveys showed that there was a significant increase in the rate of supine position from 73% at baseline to 93% at follow-up (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Multifactorial interventions improved compliance with safe sleep practices in the NICU and at home.

Study Design: QE: pretest-posttest

Setting: Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital NICU in Houston, TX

Population of Focus: Infants in open cribs eligible for safe sleep practices; Parents of infants after discharge

Data Source: Crib audit/infant observation; Parent report

Sample Size: Baseline (n=62) Follow-up (n=79); Baseline (n=66) Follow-up (n=98)

Age Range: Not specified

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): CAREGIVER, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, Education/Training (caregiver), Educational Material (caregiver), PARENT/FAMILY, Training (Parent/Family), NATIONAL, Campaign, Mass Media

Intervention Description: The objective of this study was to describe parental knowledge and practices regarding infant sleep position, bedsharing, pacifier use, and feeding practices before and after receipt of a free crib and safe sleep education.

Intervention Results: Ninety percent reported that the baby slept in a crib after the intervention, compared with 51 % postnatally (p < 0.01). BBB was successful in changing knowledge and practices in the majority of high-risk participants with regards to placing the infant supine in a crib for sleep.

Conclusion: Crib distribution and safe sleep education positively influence knowledge and practices about safe sleep.

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROVIDER/PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, POPULATION-BASED SYSTEMS, NATIONAL, Campaign, Mass Media, CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Educational Material (caregiver)

Intervention Description: To assess parental risk behaviour before and after a sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) information campaign with special emphasis on associations with maternal age, education, marital status and birth order.

Intervention Results: The prevalence of non-supine sleep position decreased significantly from 33.7% before the campaign to 13.6% after (RR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.37-0.44). The decrease was significant by maternal education, cohabitation, birth order, and maternal age.

Conclusion: Non-supine sleeping decreased to a level that has never been reported before. In future campaigns, subgroup-specific measures may be needed.

Study Design: QE: pretest-posttest

Setting: N/A

Population of Focus: All mothers registered with the Medical Birth Registry of Norway as having given birth between Oct and Nov 1998 and Oct and Nov 1999 without a pathological condition

Data Source: Mother report

Sample Size: Baseline (n=5539) Follow-up (n=4143)

Age Range: Not specified

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROVIDER/PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, HOSPITAL, Policy/Guideline (Hospital), Sleep Environment Modification, CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Educational Material (caregiver), HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Audit/Attestation

Intervention Description: The purpose of this study was to improve safe sleep practices for infants in nonneonatal pediatric units with implementation of specific interventions.

Intervention Results: Safe sleep was observed for 4.9% of 264 infants at baseline and 31.2% of 234 infants postintervention (P<.001). Extra blankets, the most common of unsafe items, were present in 77% of cribs at baseline and 44% postintervention. However, the mean number of unsafe items observed in each sleeping environment was reduced by >50% (P=.001).

Conclusion: Implementation of site-specific interventions seems to improve overall safe sleep in inpatient pediatric units, although continued improvement is needed. Specifically, extra items are persistently left in the sleeping environment.

Study Design: QE: pretest-posttest

Setting: Eight children’s hospitals

Population of Focus: Infants aged 0 to 6 months admitted to the general pediatric unit (excluding infants in the NICUs, PICUs, and maternal fetal units)

Data Source: Crib audit/infant observation

Sample Size: Baseline (n=234) Follow-up (n=210)

Age Range: Not specified

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROFESSIONAL_CAREGIVER, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, Educational Material (caregiver), HOSPITAL, Sleep Environment Modification

Intervention Description: This was a multicenter prospective study in which exposed/unexposed mothers answered questionnaires (by telephone and online) one month after giving birth. The exposed group consisted of mothers who had given birth in a maternity hospital of the ELENA perinatal network in which an embroidered sleeping bag with a safe-sleep message was used as a preventive action; the unexposed group of mothers gave birth in a maternity hospital of the RP2S network, without this specific preventive action. Devised by the perinatal network to promote and encourage back sleeping, the embroidered “I sleep on my back” (baby) sleeping bags are systematically used in postpartum recovery rooms.

Intervention Results: A total of 540 mothers participated in the study: 245 in the exposed group and 295 in the unexposed group. In the exposed group, 87.3% of infants slept exclusively on their back versus 75.9% in the unexposed group (P<0.001); 91% of the mothers reported having actually used the sleeping bag. Except for room-sharing, compliance with the other sleeping recommendations was higher in the exposed group.

Conclusion: Sleeping practices when infants were 1 month old were not optimal in our study population. A simple preventive initiative in maternity hospitals, using the embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bags, is relevant and effective in improving compliance with the sleeping recommendations for infants at home.

Setting: Three maternity hospitals in the ELENA perinatal network in France

Population of Focus: Mothers of newborns

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROVIDER/PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, HOSPITAL, Quality Improvement, Policy/Guideline (Hospital), Crib Card, Visual Display (Hospital), Sleep Environment Modification, Promotional Event, CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Educational Material (caregiver), Attestation (caregiver), HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Audit/Attestation

Intervention Description: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to promote the AAP safe sleep recommendations and provide appropriate role modeling of these recommendations for hemodynamically stable infants throughout their hospital stay.

Intervention Results: Observations noted an improvement from 70% to 90% (p< 0.01) of infants in a safe sleep position when comparing pre- and postintervention results. There were some improvements in knowledge of and agreement with the AAP guidelines after the educational intervention, but not as much as expected.

Conclusion: There was inconsistency between nursing knowledge and practice about safe infant sleep. Nurses were aware of the AAP recommendations, but it took time to achieve close to full compliance in changing clinical practice. Observation was an important part of this initiative to reinforce knowledge and role model best practice for parents.

Study Design: QE: pretest-posttest

Setting: Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester in NY

Population of Focus: Hemodynamically stable infants less than 1 year of age in the mother-baby unit and nine pediatric units

Data Source: Crib audit/infant observation

Sample Size: Baseline (n=65) Follow-up (n=60)

Age Range: Not specified

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, PROFESSIONAL_CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Provision of Safe Sleep Item, HOSPITAL, Quality Improvement, Sleep Environment Modification, Policy/Guideline (Hospital), Audit/Attestation

Intervention Description: The hospital’s safe sleep task force (SSTF) implemented targeted interventions using the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement as the gold standard and based on hospital data/crib audits to address areas of greatest nonadherence to recommendations. The SSTF created a standalone Infant Safe Sleep Policy for all infants admitted to the hospital; provided education on safe sleep to health care providers; created a patient education video for parents of all hospitalized infants; increased its Halo sleep sack allotment; and revised the room set-up to encourage adherence to AAP’s safe sleep guidelines. A safe sleep audit tool was used by clinical assistant or nurse (per hospitalized sleeping session) to assess adherence to safe sleep guidelines. The overall aim of the initiative was to increase the average weekly adherence to the AAP-recommended safe sleep practices for hospitalized infants to ≥95% over 12 months.

Intervention Results: There was a significant improvement in overall adherence to safe sleep recommendations from baseline (M = 70.8%, SD 21.6) to end of study period (M = 94.7%, SD 10.0) [t(427) = -15.1, P ≤ 0.001]. Crib audits with 100% adherence increased from a baseline (M = 0%, SD 0) to the end of the study period M = 70.4%, SD = 46) [t(381)= -21.4, P ≤ 0.001]. This resulted in two trend shifts on the p-chart using Institute for Healthcare Improvement control chart rules.

Conclusion: Targeted interventions using QI methodology led to significant increases in adherence to safe sleep guidelines. Notable improvements in behavior indicated significant changes in safe sleep culture. We also noted continued adherence in follow-up audits reflecting sustainability.

Setting: Tertiary children's hospital

Population of Focus: Hospital healthcare providers

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, PROFESSIONAL_CAREGIVER, Education/Training (caregiver), Provision of Safe Sleep Item

Intervention Description: The Georgia state department of public health trained facilitators at 28 sites across the state to facilitate a group safe sleep education and crib distribution program. The program consisted of a one-time educational session (approximately 30-45 minutes) using a PowerPoint presentation that included talking points for the session facilitator. At the end of the education session, participants received a portable crib—which also served as a cue to action—and instructions for and demonstration of crib set-up and take-down. A prospective, matched pre- and post-test cohort design with follow-up was used to evaluate changes in self-reported knowledge, intentions, and practices.

Intervention Results: The final sample included 615 matched pre- and post-test surveys, and 66 matched follow-up surveys. The proportion of correct responses on all knowledge and intended practice items increased significantly from pre- to post-test. When asked where their babies would have slept if they had not received the portable crib, 66.1% of participants planned to use a recommended sleep location (e.g., crib or bassinet). At post-test, 62.3% planned to change something about their infant's sleep based on what they learned. At follow-up, knowledge was maintained for all but two items and practices and for half of practice items. The results suggest that participating in the education program was associated with increased knowledge and intended adherence, but that these changes were not maintained at follow-up.

Conclusion: These results are in line with the research literature that finds a difference in intentions and actual practices after the baby is born.

Setting: Multiple facilities in Georgia

Population of Focus: Expectant and new parents demonstrating financial need

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROVIDER/PRACTICE, Provision of Safe Sleep Item, Provider Training/Education, HOSPITAL, Quality Improvement, Policy/Guideline (Hospital), Visual Display (Hospital), Sleep Environment Modification, CAREGIVER

Intervention Description: This quality improvement study aimed to increase adherence to SSPs for infants admitted to a children's hospital general care unit between October 2013 and December 2014.

Intervention Results: Audit data showed that there was a non-significant increase in supine position from 81.0% to 84.3% from baseline to follow-up (p=0.54). Caregiver report showed that there was a non-significant increase in supine position from 89.3% to 93.8% (p=0.42).

Conclusion: Sustained improvements in hospital SSPs were achieved through this quality improvement initiative, with opportunity for continued improvement. Nurse knowledge increased during the intervention. It is uncertain whether these findings translate to changes in caregiver home practices after discharge.

Study Design: QE: pretest-posttest

Setting: American Family Children’s Hospital in WI

Population of Focus: Infants <12 months admitted to medical and surgical units; Caregivers of infants <6 months after hospital discharge

Data Source: Crib audit/infant observation; Caregiver report

Sample Size: Baseline (n=59) Follow-up (n=257); Baseline (n=56) Follow-up (n=48)

Age Range: Not specified

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PROFESSIONAL_CAREGIVER, Educational Material (caregiver), Provision of Safe Sleep Item, HOSPITAL, Quality Improvement, Crib Card, Policy/Guideline (Hospital), HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Educational Material (Provider), Nurse/Nurse Practitioner, Audit/Attestation, Audit/Attestation (Provider)

Intervention Description: This hospital quality improvement initiative performed a series of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles designed to increase the proportion of infants placed in a “perfect sleep” environment that met all of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ infant safe sleep guidelines. The initiative took place while the hospital was preparing for Baby Friendly certification, with increased emphasis on rooming in and skin to skin at the same time. Initial cycles targeted nurse and parental education, while later cycles focused on providing sleep sacks/wearable blankets for the infants. The goal was to achieve 70% “perfect sleep” compliance among infants cared for in the hospital.

Intervention Results: While we did not meet our goal, the percentage of infants with 'perfect sleep' increased from a baseline of 41.9% to 67.3%, and we also saw improvement in each of the individual components that contribute to this composite measure. Improvements were sustained over 12 months later, suggesting that QI interventions targeting infant safe sleep in this inpatient setting can have long-lasting results.

Conclusion: This project also suggests that infant safe sleep QI initiatives and preparation towards Baby Friendly Hospital Certification can be complementary.

Population of Focus: Hospital healthcare providers

Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Assessment (provider), Provider Training/Education, Nurse/Nurse Practitioner, PARENT/FAMILY, Education/Training (caregiver), Provision of Safe Sleep Item, HOSPITAL, Quality Improvement

Intervention Description: The purpose of our safe sleep initiative was to improve parental and staff knowledge of safe sleep practices and to achieve increased compliance with infant safe sleep in the hospital setting. A multidisciplinary team of health professionals was created to address poor compliance with safe sleep guidelines, investigate barriers, and identify primary drivers for improvement. Subsequent interventions included parent education, staff education, and improvements in system processes. Members of the hospitals nurse residency program conducted multidisciplinary surveys before and after the quality improvement initiative to assess staff knowledge of safe sleep practices. The data were collected prospectively.

Intervention Results: Compliance with safe sleep improved to >80% in both units. Tracking of process measures revealed NICU parents received safe sleep education 98-100% of the time. No change was observed in the balancing measures. Transfers from the NN to the NICU for temperature instability did not increase. Parent satisfaction with discharge preparedness did not change (98.2% prior to and 99.6% after).

Conclusion: We achieved improved compliance with safe sleep practices in our NN and NICU through education of staff and parents and improved system processes. We believe this will translate to improved safe sleep practices used by parents at home.

Setting: Truman Medical Center in Kansas City

Population of Focus: Infants admitted to newborn nursery and NICU