SIDS Prevention: Nurse Education and Evidence-Based Practice

Introduction

There are many medical events and disorders that are entirely preventable, and there are others that can occur even under the best of circumstances. When it comes to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), much is known and much remains uncertain. Even amid this uncertainty, certain tactics and methods are employed to limit the risk of a SIDS-related death. These tactics are imparted through education and guidance, and a significant portion of this knowledge is shared by qualified nurses who know the proper techniques for maximizing the safety and outcomes of the children involved.

The proper amount, type, and method of education from nurses depends on adept leadership from the nursing leadership that underpins the nurses doing the educating. While any good-faith attempt at educating parents about SIDS is generally beneficial, there are best practices for nurses and their leaders alike that should consistently be employed.

Analysis: Evidence-Based Practice and SIDS Education

This topic addresses the broader concern of developing solid nursing skills and leadership because it speaks to best practices and the paradigm in nursing that has come to be known as evidence-based practice. Indeed, there is more than one way to conduct education and to lead the nurses and other staff who do the same. However, some approaches are more effective than others. Knowing how to seek out and use these methods is the hallmark of good nursing and nursing leadership. Absorbing, learning, and taking these lessons to heart — and applying them with regularity and consistency over time — is the proven way to be a great care provider, a proper coordinator of care, and a strong member of the nursing profession (Hauck et al., 2017).

Beyond this, the practices relating to SIDS are important to contemporary nursing practice because the overarching goal is to keep patients and their family members safe, and to improve outcomes over time. There was a time when the ways to prevent SIDS were not widely known. For example, it was not always understood that a baby's sleeping position has a strong relationship to the likelihood of SIDS. However, things have changed, and the education of new mothers on how to properly put their children to bed has greatly lowered the number of children affected by SIDS. The parallels to other advances in public health — such as the development of immunizations against influenza and other viruses — are clear (Bishop, 2015).

Conclusion

Nurses are not at the top of the healthcare hierarchy. However, they are sufficiently prominent within it, and prevalent enough in terms of numbers, that their impact and professional burden are very real and undeniable. As such, nurses must be at the forefront when it comes to mastering and enforcing the relevant standards of patient safety and evidence-based care — particularly in matters as consequential as SIDS prevention.

Bishop, T. (2015). Putting the evidence into practice. Practice Nurse, 45(12), 7.

Hauck, F. R., McEntire, B. L., Raven, L. K., Bates, F. L., Lyus, L. A., Willett, A. M., & Blair, P. S. (2017). Research priorities in sudden unexpected infant death: An international consensus. Pediatrics, 140(2), 1–10.

Zachritz, W., Fulmer, M., & Chaney, N. (2016). An evidence-based infant safe sleep program to reduce sudden unexplained infant deaths. AJN American Journal of Nursing, 116(11), 48–55.