O2054: Sleep-related Infant Death Rates in Unsafe Sleep Environments May Be Reduced by Using a Community-wide Collaborative

Background: In 2014, after a hiatus of several years, the Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) in Montgomery County, Texas began reviewing data when several alarming trends of childhood deaths including increasing sleep-related infant death (SRID) rates were noted. By 2016, SRID was the leading cause of death in children 18 and under in Montgomery County.

Project Description: In 2017, Texas Children's Hospital, The Woodlands, CFRT, and the Montgomery District Attorney’s office joined forces hosting a community-wide informational program to spread awareness of the rates of SRID in Montgomery County. The program included speakers from Texas Children's Hospital, CFRT, Emergency Medical Services and a moving parent testimonial generating community interest in reducing SRID rates. A group of representatives from hospitals in Montgomery County, the County Hospital District, and a representative from CFRT created a focus group, who then developed the Montgomery Safe Sleep Coalition, an independent organization with the mission to reduce SRID in Montgomery County. The Coalition discovered that some hospitals did not have policies for safe sleep, educational materials for staff or parents, or any visual aids or reminders. In addition, among those with safe sleep materials, there was wide variation and inconsistency in safe sleep information and education. The Coalition decided to standardize education in hospitals by supplying policies and procedures, educational materials, posters, and crib cards. The Coalition also partnered with community agencies for more widespread awareness and created a website. The website housed policies and procedures, educational materials, testimonial videos from parents who had suffered losses, and a section with recall information for retail items related to infant sleep. All educational resources could be downloaded and printed free of charge. The Coalition became a 503c corporation to allow donations and participation in fund raising activities, which enabled the Coalition to host community events. To evaluate effectiveness of the Coalition’s activities dedicated to outreach and education, SRID rates have been followed by the CFRT. As of 2021 data, SRID are no longer the leading cause of death in children in Montgomery County.

Discussion: Using local data and presenting it to the community sparked a genuine interest in collaboration between agencies and hospital systems. Providing safe sleep resources to community hospitals improved relationships with the Children’s hospital and among hospitals themselves. The website feedback was incredibly positive from families, especially about recalled products and educating other family members. The trend in decreased rates of deaths was encouraging.

Conclusion: Infant deaths in unsafe sleep environments may be reduced by community collaboration using local data to inform providers, engage community partners and supply resources to families and providers using a centralized website.