Abstract
Background: Queensland has one of the highest rates of SUDI compared to other regions in Australia, while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are almost three times more likely to die than non-Indigenous infants. Many infant deaths amongst this population have been associated with co-sleeping environments, a common practice in Australia that has cultural significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. The Pēpi-pod program is a health promotion initiative originating in New Zealand that draws attention away from problems for vulnerable babies in unsafe sleeping situations and focuses on a solution: support for parents and protection for the baby. The program encompasses a portable safe infant sleep space paired with a Safe Sleep educational program that has been adapted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Support for health professionals through evidence-based safe sleep education and allocation of leadership roles within service teams aims to empower communities. Objectives: 1. How to identify safe sleep practices of families through empowering and providing staff with clear roles as Safe Sleep Champions in the communities they serve; 2. Share a novel approach, the Pēpi-pod Program, a safe sleep space combined within a targeted safe sleeping health promotion initiative for Queensland families with known risk factors for SUDI. Methods: This project aims to determine the acceptability, effectiveness, feasibility and sustainability of the Pēpi-pod Program in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland (target n=350 families). An exploratory descriptive design is used to evaluate and report parent and health worker experiences of the Pēpi-pod Program. Measures include family risk assessment, acceptability, safe sleeping awareness (effectiveness), and extent of social networking in communities using longitudinal data collection through timed repeated participant survey. Health worker capacity is measured through completion of key training components. Feasibility, sustainability, and community awareness will be measured through feedback from participating services and community representatives. Results: To date six sites providing maternity care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families across Queensland have undergone competency training and are implementing the Pēpi-pod Program in their respective communities. This presentation will review the success of the consultation and development undertaken for the Pēpi-pod Program and competency training and development of Safe Sleep Champions at participating sites. The three interlinked components of the Pēpi-pod program: Safe Space; Safe Care and Role of the Family will be discussed in relation to the process of empowering families and carers to provide for safe sleep, every sleep for their babies. The findings to date will also be presented. Conclusion: Positive outcomes have been reported for two consecutive years to date in the parent study and pilot results for the current study identified that the Pēpi-pod was acceptable as a portable sleep space for infants with positive responses relating to utilisation, acceptability, safety and convenience. The results from this larger cohort will determine if the Pēpi-pod Program influences health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Queensland and will inform future implementation of the program within this population.