Let’s Talk: Community Engagement for Safe Sleep Education
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia is supporting First Candle to facilitate Let's Talk Events in the Atlanta perinatal region. During the research phase of the project, we learned that there is significantly limited information regarding safe sleep practices in the Atlanta perinatal region. More specifically, though Black infants are most impacted by SUIDs in the Atlanta perinatal region, there is a lack of understanding of the knowledge and beliefs of safe sleep practices among Black families residing in this area. To accurately support this population, it is essential to learn directly from the community. Furthermore, engaging the community in the environmental scan will allow for the implementation team to build trusted links with Black families. It is hoped that obtaining community input before implementation will increase the reach and acceptability of Let’s Talk events. The environmental scan will include a Black birth giver safe sleep survey, focus groups with birth givers, dads, and doulas, and interviews with health care providers. The project goals are:
Goal 1: To better understand how Black families living in the Atlanta Perinatal Region are impacted by safe sleep policies and guidance such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Safe Sleep Recommendations and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rulings.
Goal 2: To better understand how to best support Black families living in the Atlanta Perinatal Region to follow AAP Safe Sleep Recommendations.
Objective: Utilize the results of the environmental scan to inform innovative practices to promote safe sleep practices for Black families living in the Atlanta Perinatal Region. This may include perinatal health provider training, community education events, and the provision of safe sleep resources.
Click here to review the results of the environmental scan!
Please click on the link to view a list of infant-safe sleep resources!
Questions? Please email Destiny Stokes, Research Manager, at destiny.stokes@hmhbga.org.
