Improving Safe Infant Sleep Compliance Through Implementation of a Safe Sleep Bundle

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Public health
• Quality improvement initiatives

Background:

• Sleep-related infant deaths pose a significant public health risk, particularly for premature infants discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends safe sleep practices, acknowledging unique NICU challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a safe sleep bundle in a level III NICU.
• To evaluate the bundle's effectiveness in enhancing caregiver compliance with safe sleep practices.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-analysis quality improvement initiative was conducted.
• Infants >= 32 weeks post-menstrual age in a level III NICU were assessed.
• The safe sleep bundle included policy updates, standardized sleep sacks, educational materials, and an electronic health record (EHR) order set.

Main Results:

• Overall safe sleep compliance significantly improved to 100% post-intervention from a baseline of 18%.
• The P-value for the improvement was .029.

Conclusions:

• Clinical staff role-modeling can decrease the risk of sleep-related infant deaths.
• A multifactorial approach is effective for enhancing safe sleep compliance in NICU settings.