Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that healthcare professionals model their safe infant sleeping environment recommendations, yet adherence to safe sleep practices within our community hospital mother–baby unit was low. We used quality improvement (QI) methodology to increase adherence t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Joel C Boggan, Sophie Kay Shaikh, Lauren Chamberlain, Kristina Marie Nazareth-Pidgeon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2022-08-01
Series:BMJ Open Quality
Online Access:https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/11/3/e001834.full
_version_ 1818491162730692608
author Joel C Boggan
Sophie Kay Shaikh
Lauren Chamberlain
Kristina Marie Nazareth-Pidgeon
author_facet Joel C Boggan
Sophie Kay Shaikh
Lauren Chamberlain
Kristina Marie Nazareth-Pidgeon
author_sort Joel C Boggan
collection DOAJ
description The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that healthcare professionals model their safe infant sleeping environment recommendations, yet adherence to safe sleep practices within our community hospital mother–baby unit was low. We used quality improvement (QI) methodology to increase adherence to infant safe sleep practices, with a goal to improve the proportion of infants sleeping in an environment that would be considered ‘perfect sleep’ to 70% within a 1-year period. The project occurred while the hospital was preparing for Baby Friendly certification, with increased emphasis on rooming in and skin to skin at the same time.Multiple Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles were performed. Initial cycles targeted nurse and parental education, while later cycles focused on providing sleep sacks/wearable blankets for the infants.While we did not meet our goal, the percentage of infants with ‘perfect sleep’ increased from a baseline of 41.9% to 67.3%, and we also saw improvement in each of the individual components that contribute to this composite measure. Improvements were sustained over 12 months later, suggesting that QI interventions targeting infant safe sleep in this inpatient setting can have long-lasting results. This project also suggests that infant safe sleep QI initiatives and preparation towards Baby Friendly Hospital Certification can be complementary.
first_indexed 2024-12-10T17:27:04Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c8d5ce8544a94c6289e3b0f530381f7f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2399-6641
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-10T17:27:04Z
publishDate 2022-08-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open Quality
spelling doaj.art-c8d5ce8544a94c6289e3b0f530381f7f2022-12-22T01:39:49ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Quality2399-66412022-08-0111310.1136/bmjoq-2022-001834Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nurseryJoel C Boggan0Sophie Kay Shaikh1Lauren Chamberlain2Kristina Marie Nazareth-Pidgeon31Department of Medicine, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USAPediatrics, Duke University Health System, Durham, North Carolina, USAPediatrics, Duke University Health System, Durham, North Carolina, USAPediatrics, Duke University Health System, Durham, North Carolina, USAThe American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that healthcare professionals model their safe infant sleeping environment recommendations, yet adherence to safe sleep practices within our community hospital mother–baby unit was low. We used quality improvement (QI) methodology to increase adherence to infant safe sleep practices, with a goal to improve the proportion of infants sleeping in an environment that would be considered ‘perfect sleep’ to 70% within a 1-year period. The project occurred while the hospital was preparing for Baby Friendly certification, with increased emphasis on rooming in and skin to skin at the same time.Multiple Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles were performed. Initial cycles targeted nurse and parental education, while later cycles focused on providing sleep sacks/wearable blankets for the infants.While we did not meet our goal, the percentage of infants with ‘perfect sleep’ increased from a baseline of 41.9% to 67.3%, and we also saw improvement in each of the individual components that contribute to this composite measure. Improvements were sustained over 12 months later, suggesting that QI interventions targeting infant safe sleep in this inpatient setting can have long-lasting results. This project also suggests that infant safe sleep QI initiatives and preparation towards Baby Friendly Hospital Certification can be complementary.https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/11/3/e001834.full
spellingShingle Joel C Boggan
Sophie Kay Shaikh
Lauren Chamberlain
Kristina Marie Nazareth-Pidgeon
Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
BMJ Open Quality
title Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
title_full Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
title_fullStr Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
title_full_unstemmed Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
title_short Quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
title_sort quality improvement initiative to improve infant safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery
url https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/11/3/e001834.full
work_keys_str_mv AT joelcboggan qualityimprovementinitiativetoimproveinfantsafesleeppracticesinthenewbornnursery
AT sophiekayshaikh qualityimprovementinitiativetoimproveinfantsafesleeppracticesinthenewbornnursery
AT laurenchamberlain qualityimprovementinitiativetoimproveinfantsafesleeppracticesinthenewbornnursery
AT kristinamarienazarethpidgeon qualityimprovementinitiativetoimproveinfantsafesleeppracticesinthenewbornnursery