Infant care practices related to sudden infant death syndrome in Queensland 2002 [Final Report Executive Summary]

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) remains the leading cause of death in infants aged one week to one year in Australia. Since 1991, Queensland’s SIDS mortality rate has been persistently higher than the national average. Infant care practices are the most important set of factors for reducing the risk of an infant from dying of SIDS, yet the prevalence of these practices and risk factors had remained unknown in Queensland. A pilot study (n=36) conducted in a Queensland metropolitan area during October 2001 suggested serious deficiencies in parental practices related to infant care associated with a reduced risk of SIDS. A larger and more representative state-wide prevalence study was undertaken to substantiate these findings. The purpose of this statewide study was to benchmark the prevalence of infant care practices associated with SIDS mortality in Queensland primary caregivers with infants of approximately 3 months of age. The 3-month age threshold was chosen to coincide with the age that infants are most vulnerable to succumbing from SIDS (Fleming et al., 2000).Please cite this report using this URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/39/578849b56aea