2023 Volume 72 Issue 4 Pages 159-170
A self-administered questionnaire surveys on parental education on safe sleep environments（SSE）for prevention of sleep-related sudden unexpected infant deaths（SUID）were conducted to 19 administrative centers involved in child support, 43 obstetrics and gynecology（OG）clinics that provide antenatal care, and 80 pediatric clinics in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Responses were obtained from 12 centers, 24 OG clinics, and 49 pediatric clinics. All centers, 54.0% of the OG clinics and 59.2% of the pediatric clinics provided parental education using poster displays, leaflet distribution and face-to-face oral explanations in descending order of frequency. The educational content, mainly focused on sudden infant death syndrome, whereas information on SSE was limited and varied among the respondents. 58.3% of the administrators, 29.2% of the OG clinics, and 36.7% of the pediatric clinics had seen or were aware of the ideal SSE. Our survey suggests that medical institutions do not sufficiently recognize the importance of active involvement in raising awareness on SSE, and that evidence of SSE is not sufficiently understood by the administrators and medical practitioners. It is important for all institutions involved with children to share scientific findings and establish effective awareness-raising measures to prevent SUID.
