Awareness of infant safe sleep messages and associated care practices: findings from an Australian cohort of families with young infants

Roni Cole; Jeanine Young; Lauren Kearney; John M D Thompson

doi:10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000972

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Awareness of infant safe sleep messages and associated care practices: findings from an Australian cohort of families with young infants

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Awareness of infant safe sleep messages and associated care practices: findings from an Australian cohort of families with young infants

Roni Cole, Jeanine Young, Lauren Kearney and John M D Thompson

BMJ Paediatrics Open, Vol.5, pp.1-8

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000972

PMCID: PMC7908297

PMID: 33718628

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Abstract

Objective: To investigate primary infant caregiver awareness of the current national public health safe sleep messages and the associations of awareness with care practices. Design and setting: A cross-sectional survey in Queensland, Australia. All families with live babies birthed during April–May 2017 were eligible. Questionnaires were distributed when infants were approximately 3 months old. Participants: Of the 10 200 eligible families, 3341 (33%) primary caregivers participated. Main outcome measures: Participants were asked: to recall key safe sleeping messages they were aware of (unprompted); questions about their infant care practices; and to select the current, national six safe sleeping messages (prompted multi-choice). Results: Overall, the majority of families are aware of sleep-related infant mortality and sudden infant death (3178/3317, 96%); however, approximately one in four caregivers (867/3292, 26%) could not identify the current six messages to promote safer infant sleep in a multi-choice question. Despite being aware of the six key messages, some caregiver practices did not always align with advice (336/2423, 14% were not smoke-free; 349/2423, 14% were not usually supine for sleep; 649/2339, 28% employed practices which may increase risk of head or face covering; 426/2423, 18% were not receiving breastmilk). Conclusions: There is considerable scope for improvement in parent awareness and ability to recall key safe sleep messages. Awareness of advice does not always translate into safe infant care. Health promotion messaging to encourage safer infant sleep, ultimately aimed at reducing sudden unexpected infant deaths, needs more effective supportive strategies and dissemination if future campaigns are to be successful.

Details

Title: Awareness of infant safe sleep messages and associated care practices: findings from an Australian cohort of families with young infants
Authors: Roni Cole (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy
Jeanine Young (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy
Lauren Kearney (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy
John M D Thompson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy
Publication details: BMJ Paediatrics Open, Vol.5, pp.1-8
Publisher: B M J Group
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000972
PMID: 33718628; PMC7908297
Copyright note: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/./ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Nursing; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99510405202621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Pediatrics

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