Infant Mortality and SIDS Perceptions Among Key Healthcare Professional Informants in Sedgwick County, KS.
Sedgwick County, KS, has one of the highest infant mortality rates (IMR) in the USA, of which sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a large component. The purpose of this study was to assess local key informants' awareness of the high IMR overall, their knowledge and beliefs about SIDS risk factors specifically, and their recommendations for ways to increase physician and community awareness of SIDS within Sedgwick County, KS.



Structured interviews were conducted with key informants from Sedgwick County, KS.



Four themes emerged from key informant interviews: low level of awareness of infant mortality and SIDS, target population most at risk for SIDS/infant mortality, and barriers to and importance of SIDS education. Key informants were in consensus that there was a lack of general community awareness surrounding the high IMR in Sedgwick County. Strategies were identified to address this issue, including consistent SIDS education of medical providers and parents, social support to moms, use of social media, and involving the faith community in educating target populations about risk factors.



Health and public health key informants provided an overall view of their perception of the SIDS problem in Sedgwick County, KS. Based on collected interviews, the consensus was there are significant problems within Sedgwick County around the issue of SIDS awareness (severity of the problem), SIDS risk, and barriers to increasing SIDS education among professional and community members. African-Americans were identified as the population with the highest infant mortality and SIDS rates in Sedgwick County by health and public health key informant participants. A concerted, educational approach was recommended as the best way forward to reduce SIDS risk within this community.
The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS, USA.
Fannette
F
Thornhill-Scott
The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS, USA.
Michelle L
ML
Redmond
The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS, USA.
Frank
F
Dong
The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS, USA. eablah@kumc.edu.
Elizabeth
E
Ablah
D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007615:Kansas; D012307:Risk Factors; D013398:Sudden Infant Death
Awareness; Infant mortality; Risk factors; SIDS