Barriers to following the back-to-sleep recommendations: insights from focus groups with inner-city caregivers.
BACKGROUND
African American infants have a higher incidence of SIDS and increased risk of being placed in the prone position for sleep.


OBJECTIVE
To determine new barriers and more information about previously identified barriers that interfere with adherence to the Back-to-Sleep recommendations among inner-city, primarily African Americans.


METHODS
We conducted 9 focus groups with caregivers of infants and young children from women, infants, and children centers and clinics in New Haven and Boston. Themes were identified using standard qualitative techniques.


RESULTS
Forty-nine caregivers participated, of whom 86% were African American, 6% were Hispanic, 4% were white, and 4% were other. Four themes were identified: 1) SAFETY: Participants chose the position for their infants based on which position they believed to be the safest. Some participants did not choose to put their infants in the supine position for sleep because they feared their infants would choke; 2) Advice: Participants relied on the advice of more experienced female family members. Health care providers were not uniformly a trusted source of advice; 3) Comfort: Participants made choices about their infants sleeping positions based on their perceptions of whether the infants appeared comfortable. Participants thought that their infants appeared more comfortable in the prone position; 4) Knowledge: Some participants had either limited or erroneous knowledge about the Back-to-Sleep recommendations.


CONCLUSIONS
We identified multiple barriers to adherence to recommendations regarding infant sleep position. Data obtained from these focus groups could be used to design educational interventions aimed at improving communication about and adherence to the Back-to-Sleep recommendations.
Colson
Eve R
ER
Department of Pediatrics,Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CN 06520, USA. Eve.Colson@yale.edu
McCabe
Liana K
LK
Fox
Kenneth
K
Levenson
Suzette
S
Colton
Theodore
T
Lister
George
G
Corwin
Michael J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012890:Sleep; D016683:Supine Position; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D014504:Urban Health