Nurses knowledge levels about sudden infant DEATH syndrome and safe sleep

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the "sudden and unexpected death of infants younger than one year of age from an unexplained cause following a comprehensive case study, clinical history, and autopsy". A safe sleeping environment should be created to reduce the risk factors for SIDS. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the knowledge level of nurses who provide direct care and counseling to the baby and his family about SIDS and safe sleep. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge level of nurses about SIDS and safe sleep. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 115 nurses working in Family Health Centers in a city center and its districts in the Central Black Sea Region between March and July 2021, meeting the sample selection criteria and agreeing to participate in the study. Data were collected with the "Nurse Descriptive Feature Form" and "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in Infants and Safe Sleep About Knowledge Level Evaluation Form". The lowest score that can be obtained from the 30-item information form is 0, and the highest score is 30. SPSS package program was used in statistical analysis and appropriate statistical evaluations were made. It was observed that 93.9% of the nurses participating in the study had SIDS, 80.0% heard about safe sleep and 76.5% did not receive any training on SIDS. It was determined that the mean score of the knowledge level of the nurses about SIDS and safe sleep was 19.59±3.36 above the average. In the study, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of SIDS and safe sleep according to the marital status, number of children and education level of the nurses (p<0.05). As a result, although the knowledge level of the nurses participating in the research about SIDS and safe sleep are above the average, it is not at the desired level. Within the scope of APA recommendations, it is recommended that nurses be given in-service training on SIDS and safe sleep. Keywords: Knowledge level, nurse, safe sleep, sudden infant death syndrome