Knowledge, opinions, and practices of infant sleep position among parents

This study's objective was to assess the knowledge, opinions, and practices of infants' sleep positions and their association with demographics. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to survey a convenience sample of military beneficiary parents being seen at a military treatment f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2012-02, Vol.177 (2), p.235-239
Main Author: Chung-Park, Min S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Armed forces
Babies
Caregivers
Cross-Sectional Studies
Demographics
Education
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Knowledge
Logistic Models
Male
Military Personnel - psychology
Parents & parenting
Parents - psychology
Pilot Projects
Prone Position - physiology
Sleep
Sudden Infant Death - prevention & control
Supine Position - physiology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:This study's objective was to assess the knowledge, opinions, and practices of infants' sleep positions and their association with demographics. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to survey a convenience sample of military beneficiary parents being seen at a military treatment facility in the United States. A 19-item investigator-designed questionnaire was adapted using the "Safe Sleep Survey" developed by Indiana Perinatal Network. A sample of 161 parents responded. Forty percent were fully aware of the safe sleep facts for infants; 85% believed supine position was the safest; and 69% of those who believed supine position to be the safest also practiced their belief. Major reasons for nonsupine sleeping positions were for infant preference, comfort, and fear of choking; whereas supine position was for safety reasons. Parents' opinions of safe position and their practices (p < 0.001) were significantly associated, whereas knowledge on infant safe sleep facts (p = 0.611) was not. The results indicate that there is still a need for education. However, merely providing information to increase knowledge alone is not enough to change behavior, as attitude was an important factor for the behavior. Theory-based intervention associated with change in behavior will have an impact on parents' attitudes.
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
DOI:10.7205/MILMED-D-11-00323