Safe sleep education blitz: a pre-post survey study

Abstract Background Due to ongoing concerns about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy, a safe sleep education blitz was conducted for professional health and care providers in conjunction with the introduction of a safe sleep alternative, the Pepi-Pod program, to Aboriginal families in South Australia. The aim of the study was to explore the effectiveness of the education blitz in building clinical knowledge about safe sleep. Methods Surveys were administered pre and post the education blitz intervention to professional health and care workers. Changes in knowledge pre- and post- intervention were measured to determine campaign effectiveness. The education blitz and surveys were conducted online. Results The pre intervention test knowledge score mean was 8.6 (SD 2.56) and post intervention was 9.5 (SD 1.22), indicating an improvement in knowledge, although not statistically significant. The lowest scores were seen in the ‘other’ category of providers (mean score 6.4), The greatest improvement was seen in the question: What weakens a baby’s arousal response? with improvement from 83% correct to 100% post intervention. Conclusions The education blitz increased safe sleep knowledge and awareness of the Pepi-Pod as a safe sleep alternative. Knowledge among health and care professionals, especially related to the anatomy and physiology of infant arousal and breathing, could be improved by the ongoing availability of the education blitz. This study informs approaches to increasing health and care providers’ knowledge about safe sleep. Despite a high level of health professional knowledge, babies in South Australia continue to die from SIDS and SUDI.