Needs Statement

There is a deficit in knowledge of pediatricians about what information is collected about infant births and deaths, how they are linked and how deaths are classified. The majority of sleep-related deaths in infants are preventable by following the AAP guidelines for Safe Sleep. Recognizing the impact on a local community of these sleep-related deaths is important for communicating risk to families and provides the ability to track rates following practice changes. Parents respect and trust their healthcare provider, and information coming from their primary care physician is more likely to be incorporated into home care for their infant. The majority of safe sleep education occurs at the time of birth. Reinforcement of safe sleep education in the office setting would emphasize to the parents the importance of following the recommendations. Pediatricians aren’t always familiar with all the recommendations for safe sleep from the AAP, so they are not comfortable counseling. In addition, they may not be aware of the magnitude of the problem in their community, therefore utilizing data from the NVSS will stress the importance of continued education for parents, as well as tracking rates longitudinally when changes are incorporated in counseling and education.