title: Integrating Safe Sleep Practices into a Pediatric Hospital: Outcomes of a Quality Improvement Project.
abstract: A quality improvement project for implementing safe sleep practices (SSP) was conducted at a large, U.S children's hospital. The intervention involved education of staff and standardization of infant sleep practices utilizing a multifaceted approach. Staff surveys and environmental audits were conducted pre- and post-intervention. Safe Sleep Environment (SSE) audits showed an improvement from 23% to 34% (p<0.001) post-intervention. Staff confidence to provide education to caregivers on SSP showed a significant increase. Results from this project demonstrate a successful approach to implement SSP in the hospital setting. Infant safe sleep practices have the potential to reduce infant mortality.
authors.affiliation: Arkansas Children's Hospital. Electronic address: angela.d.rowe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Sisterhen
authors.affiliation: Arkansas Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mallard
authors.affiliation: Arkansas Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Borecky
authors.affiliation: Arkansas Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Program, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Mallikarjuna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rettiganti
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Program, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Chunqiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D061214:Patient Safety; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016683:Supine Position; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D014481:United States
keywords: Beliefs; Crib; Infant mortality; Infants; Knowledge; Quality improvement; SIDS; Safe sleep