Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Allison Ulstad S.N.
Background
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the
sudden death of a child, under the age of twelve
months, whose death was fully investigated
(autopsy, death scene, and history), and no certain
cause is identified (Meadows-Oliver & Hendrie,
2013).
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
investigated the risks behind SIDS, and released
recommendations called the Back to Sleep
Campaign (now Safe To Sleep Campaign), which
have helped to reduce the rates of SIDS (Meadows-
Oliver et al., 2013).
In 1990, SIDS accounted for 130.3 deaths (out of
1,000 live births) and has dropped to 38.7 deaths
(out of 1,000 live births) in 2014 (Hilton, 2016).
The main goal is to educate caregivers and heath care
workers of the new recommendations for decreasing
the risk of SIDS, which include lying children on their
back to sleep, using a firm crib mattress, discouraging
bed sharing, and keeping loose bedding and soft
objects out of the crib (Meadows-Oliver et al., 2013).
Even with the release of these recommendations,
SIDS continues to be the leading cause of infant
deaths between the age of 1 and 12 months
(Meadows-Oliver et al., 2013).
Methods
Is there a need for improved education about
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the risks of its
occurrence?
P: Nurses and caregivers to children ages 1 to 12
months
I: Decrease the risks and death rates from Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome
C: The benefits of educating the nurse and public of
how to prevent risks for Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome
O: More parents and caregivers knowing how to
decrease the risks of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome, while decreasing the death rates
T: N/A
Jackson College
Results
1. Of 3,136 infant deaths resulting from SIDS, only
one quarter of SUID victims were sleeping in a
crib or on their backs when they were found; 70%
of infants were on a surface not intended for
infant sleep, and 64%...when found were on their
stomach or side64% of SUID victims in our
study were sharing a sleep surface (Schnitzer,
Covington, & Dykstra, 2012).
2. Of observed sleeping conditions, 69.7% (of the
nurses) failed the guidelines for infant
positioning, crib environment, or both
(Bartlow, 2016).
3. The percentage of healthcare professionals
aware that any non-prone position would be
better than the prone position has been
decreasing over the past 20 years, which may
reflect the changes in knowledge of the relative
risks of the prone and lateral positions due to
recent research, (Luca & Hinde, 2016).
4. Pre-test results (n=2,244) identified deficits
(among healthcare workers) in knowledge and
application to risk factor assessment and
evidence based parent advice, (Young, Higgins,
Raven & Watson, 2013).
5. Reducing infant deaths from SIDSis a top
priority of pediatric nurses. It is therefore
imperative for nurses and other health care
providers who work with children to be up to date
with current recommendations when educating
and counseling families about safe infant sleep
(Meadows-Oliver & Hendrie, 2013).
1. Discuss with the hospital board the research, and push
Clinical Implications
The results of this research is very valuable to
nursing practice, hospitals, and the community as a
whole. Hospitals need to focus on educating nurses
on the risks behind SIDS in order for them to
properly teach caregivers. When nurses and
families know how to properly care for children, the
risks of SIDS will decrease substantially. Essentially,
proper education and teaching about SIDS, on
every level, is valuable to everyone because it
means saving infant lives.
Conclusions
Overall, the results of the research answer the
PICOT statement by concluding that there is a
profound need for educating the public of the
recommendations to decrease the risk of SIDS.
The steps I would take following this research would
include:
for the implementation of current SIDS teaching
programs for healthcare workers.
2. Strive to create a policy for the hospital that focuses on
SIDS risk prevention.
3. Enforce practice changes which include nurses having
to strictly follow the AAP guidelines when they care for
and demonstrate infant care.
4. Implement training of healthcare workers on how to
properly educate and demonstrate preventative
measures to caregivers/families.
In order to keep improving the methods to prevent
SIDS, research, including that done by the nurse, must
never cease. Nurses and caregivers need to be kept up
to date on new evidence so that they have the
knowledge to keep children as safe as possible, and to
continue to save more and more lives.
Bibliography
Bartlow, K. L. (2016). Nurses' Knowledge and Adherence
to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Prevention
Guidelines. Pediatric Nursing, 42(1), 7-13.
Hilton, L. (2016). Counseling Parents About Safe Infant
Sleep. Contemporary Pediatrics, 33(5), 16-20.
Luca, F. D., & Hinde, A. (2016). Effectiveness of the Back-
to-Sleep Campaigns Among Healthcare
Professionals In The Past 20 Years: a systematic
review. BMJ Open, 6(9).
Meadows-Oliver, M., & Hendrie, J. (2013). Expanded Back
to Sleep Guidelines. Pediatric Nursing, 39(1), 40-49.
Schnitzer, P. G., Covington, T. M., & Dykstra, H. K. (2012).
Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths: Sleep
Environment and Circumstances. American Journal
of Public Health, 102(6), 1204-1212.
doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300613
Young, J., Higgins, N., Raven, L., & Watson, M. (2013).
Supporting Nurses And Midwives To Promote a Safe
Infant Sleeping eLearning Program. Australian
Nursing Journal, 21(2), 41.
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