Improving safe sleep practices in an urban inpatient newborn nursery and neonatal intensive care unit.

Abstract

To improve safe sleep compliance in a newborn nursery (NN) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to >80% in 1 year. Prospective quality improvement study of infants admitted to a NN and NICU. Interventions were targeted at parent education, staff education, and system processes. Compliance with safe sleep improved to >80% in both units. Tracking of process measures revealed NICU parents received safe sleep education 98-100% of the time. No change was observed in the balancing measures. Transfers from the NN to the NICU for temperature instability did not increase. Parent satisfaction with discharge preparedness did not change (98.2% prior to and 99.6% after). We achieved improved compliance with safe sleep practices in our NN and NICU through education of staff and parents and improved system processes. We believe this will translate to improved safe sleep practices used by parents at home.