None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Unfortunately in New Zealand around 50 families each year experience the tragedy of their baby dying of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) (previously known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS). There is an astonishing disparity with the majority of SUDI deaths occurring in Maori and Pacific families and disproportionately for babies living in deprivation. The goal of this research is to reduce SUDI deaths. Encouragingly there is compelling evidence that the majority of SUDI deaths are preventable by addressing the risk factors that contribute to a baby’s vulnerability and by providing a safe sleep environment every time a baby sleeps. Primary health care providers are in a key position to identify SUDI risk and provide SUDI risk reduction education and support. However, the level of SUDI knowledge, and level of SUDI risk intervention amongst primary health care providers is not well known. A Safe Sleep Calculator (SSC) has been developed to assess SUDI risk based on an algorithm constructed from the data of five international SUDI case control studies. The SSC has been adapted to integrate into the software used by primary healthcare providers. It creates the opportunity for the SSC to be a powerful instrument to increase SUDI awareness in primary care and provide an individualised SUDI risk assessment for each baby. The focus of the SSC is in identifying modifiable risk factors that the primary care team can then support the family to address. Primary Healthcare Organisations will approach their General Practice groups to participate in trialling the SSC in their routine 6 week baby checks. A SUDI education session and introduction to the SSC will be followed by access to the SSC over a minimum period of 4 months trial. This study will examine the acceptability of the integration of the SSC into routine six week baby checks in primary care for parents/caregivers of baby's and for the primary care staff delivering the SSC assessment. Acceptability will be assessed by qualitative interviewing of parents or caregivers of baby's where the SSC has been used during their baby's six week check. The experience of using the SSC tool and it acceptability with primary care staff will assessed through focus group discussion. Transcripts of the qualitative interviews and focus group discussions will be analysed. Themes will be identified, grouped and discussed and then used to guide improvements of the SSC and its implementation process in primary care general practice.
Interventions
The Safe Sleep Calculator (SSC) is a new “advanced form” that functions as part of the practice management system in general practice. The algorithm behind the SSC is derived from five international case control studies on SUDI.
The SSC requires the GP doctor or nurse to ask a series of 11 questions about the baby and the family’s baby care practices, inputting the answers onto the electronic SSC form. The SSC then calculates individual baby's risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI)
The Safe Sleep Calculator (SSC) is a new “advanced form” that functions as part of the practice management system in general practice. The algorithm behind the SSC is derived from five international case control studies on SUDI. The SSC requires the GP doctor or nurse to ask a series of 11 questions about the baby and the family’s baby care practices, inputting the answers onto the electronic SSC form. The SSC then calculates individual baby's risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) utilising both non-modifiable risk factors (e.g. young maternal age, Maori and Pacific ethnicity) and modifiable risk factors (e.g. sleep position, bed sharing, smoking, and infant feeding). The GP doctor or nurse and then discuss the result with families and will be able to see what effect changing baby care behaviours has on the risk score, for example if they did not place baby to sleep on the front. The specific objectives of this project are; to pilot the SSC as part of the six week check of babies, into volunteering general practices over 4 months. We aim to evaluate the acceptability of the SSC for up to 30 of these parents/caregivers (recruitment of participants spread over participating practices, consecutive qualifying parents/caregivers) by a single qualitative interview, either face to face or by telephone, 0-7 days from their SSC assessment in general practice. Focus group discussions with GP doctors and nurses will be undertaken, after practices have used the SSC for 4 months, to capture their experiences of the SSC, acceptability and feasibility of the SSC used in the six week baby check.
Sponsors
University of Auckland
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria for parent/caregiver interviews; Infant seen at the practice for six week check Safe sleep calculation assessment completed at the six week check Parent/Caregiver consents to being contacted for the research. Inclusion criteria for primary care staff; Working at a primary care general practice where the safe sleep calculator is being trialled. Attendance at the introductory session for the Safe Sleep Calculator
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria for parents/caregivers; : Consent to contact not obtained Unsafe environment for follow up contact. Unable to find interpretor if non english speaking. Exclusion criteria for primary care staff; nil
Outcome results
None listed