Abstract

Sudden and unexpected infant death (SUID), often associated with unsafe infant sleep practices, remains a leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs provide evidence-based individualized education, support, and resources to promote infant and child health, including promotion of safe infant sleep guidelines. The purpose of this qualitative evaluation was to explore barriers, facilitators, and home visitor influences on infant sleep practices; this component elicited caregivers’ perspectives using Photovoice methodology. Photovoice is a community-based participatory research method which aims to bring forward participants’ perspectives and everyday experiences through visual means. Five MIECHV participants submitted 21 pictures that were discussed in individual interviews. The main facilitators were access to appropriate furnishing, knowledge about safe sleep practices, and effective bedtime routines. Barriers included housing-related issues, other caregivers’ practices, and caring for siblings. These results highlighted the importance of the practitioner-client relationship and inform the program on factors that affect parents’ decision-making and infant sleep practices.

摘要

婴儿猝死（SUID）通常与不安全的婴儿睡眠习惯有关，仍然是美国婴儿死亡的主要原因。孕产妇，婴儿和幼儿家访（MIECHV）计划提供了基于证据的个性化教育，支持和资源，以促进婴儿和儿童的健康，包括推广安全的婴儿睡眠准则。这项定性评估的目的是探讨障碍，促进者和家庭访问者对婴儿睡眠习惯的影响；该组件使用Photovoice方法引出了看护者的观点。Photovoice是一种基于社区的参与式研究方法，旨在通过视觉手段提出参与者的观点和日常经验。五名MIECHV参与者提交了21张图片，这些图片在个人访谈中进行了讨论。主要的促进因素是获得适当的家具摆设，有关安全睡眠习惯的知识以及有效的就寝时间例程。障碍包括与住房有关的问题，其他护理人员的做法以及照料兄弟姐妹。这些结果突出了从业者与客户关系的重要性，并向计划提供了影响父母决策和婴儿睡眠习惯的因素的信息。