Background. In recent years, Kansas has ranked 40 th among all states for worst infant mortality rates. For African American infant mortality, Kansas had the highest rate in the nation. Because of these statistics, initiatives have been implemented to reduce these rates by the KIDS Network, in partnership with the Black Nurses Association and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. The purpose was to describe participants' knowledge and intentions regarding safe sleep following a Community Baby Shower. Methods. The Community Baby Shower was targeted to African American women via black churches, physician offices, clinics, black sororities, word of mouth, radio, and print. All Baby Shower participants were asked to complete a brief survey following the shower. Results. The majority were African American (61%) with a high school diploma or less schooling (63%). Nearly all (97%) planned to place their baby supine for sleep. However, less than half (47%) planned to have the baby sleep in the parents' room in a separate crib. Attendees exhibited high levels of safe sleep knowledge, stated intentions to utilize most safe sleep recommendations, and reported babies would have slept in unsafe environments without the portable crib. Conclusions. Our Baby Showers were attended by the target audience, who exhibited high levels of safe sleep knowledge, and stated intentions to utilize most safe sleep recommendations following the Shower. However, some participants were resistant to following at least some of the recommendations. Additional venues and other educational strategies may be needed to maximize the uptake of these recommendations. KS J Med 2014; 7(1):1-5.

Community baby showers have provided education and free portable cribs to promote safe sleep for high-risk infants. We evaluated knowledge gained at these showers and the effectiveness of holding baby showers at a primary care clinic as an alternative to traditional community venues. Participants at the community venue were more likely to exhibit risk factors associated with unsafe sleep and to report an unsafe sleep location for their infant without the provided portable crib. Following the showers, both groups showed improvement in knowledge and intentions regarding safe sleep. However, to connect with the highest risk groups, showers held at community venues appeared to be preferable to those held at high-risk clinics.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether participation in a community event developed using Health Belief Model constructs increased intention to follow the American Academy of Paediatrics Safe Sleep Guidelines for infants. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers held between Spring 2015 and Spring 2019. Method: Women attending the Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers completed pre- and post-assessments measuring intentions based on constructs derived from the Health Belief Model. Results: Following the Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers, significantly more of the 812 participants demonstrated positive changes in Health Belief Model constructs, including beliefs about severity and susceptibility (infant is at risk, sleeping with infant can cause death, loose blankets can cause death), benefits (putting infant alone, on back in crib will help protect), barriers (infant will [not] choke on back) and self-efficacy (know what to do). Two barriers did not result in significant change: room for crib (cot) in parents’ room and able to keep infant warm without blankets. Most reported intention to only place infant supine (99%), in safe sleep locations (97.8%) and to include only safe items (86.2%; all p < .001). Conclusion: Structuring a community event based on the Health Belief Model resulted in significant increases in participants intending to follow the AAP Safe Sleep Guidelines. Further work is needed to address barriers around blankets and room sharing without bed sharing. Safe Sleep Community Baby Showers can impact Health Belief Model constructs related to the AAP Safe Sleep Recommendations, which may in turn impact behaviour.