Every Sleep, Every Baby: An Interdisciplinary Program Plan to Prevent Sleep-Related Infant Deaths in a Composite County
Student Name
Master of Science in Nursing Program, Aspen University
N680: Public Health Nursing
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Every Sleep, Every Baby: An Interdisciplinary Program Plan to Prevent Sleep-Related Infant Deaths in a Composite County
Over three years, the child fatality review team of a composite county of 240,000 people reviewed nine sudden unexpected infant deaths. In eight, the infant was found in an adult bed, on a couch or with soft bedding; in six, the family had no crib or used it for storage. Each death was reviewed by a different set of professionals, and each review ended with a similar recommendation: families need consistent safe sleep information and a safe place for the baby to sleep. No single agency could deliver that alone. This paper sets out an interdisciplinary program plan led by the health department's public health nursing division, with the problem, goals, partners and their roles, activities, evidence, and an evaluation plan.
The Problem and the Evidence
Sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation and deaths of undetermined cause, remain a leading cause of death after the first month of life. National recommendations call for placing infants on their backs for every sleep, on a firm, flat surface without soft bedding, in the parents' room but not in their bed, and they encourage breastfeeding and avoiding exposure to smoke (Moon et al., 2022). Most parents have heard these messages, but adherence falls when families lack a safe sleep space, when relatives give conflicting advice, or when exhausted parents bring the baby into bed.
Two lines of evidence shape the plan. In a cluster randomized trial at 16 hospitals, mothers who received short safe sleep videos by text or email for 60 days after birth were more likely to place infants on their backs, room share without bed sharing and avoid soft bedding than controls, while a nursing quality improvement campaign in hospitals had no significant independent effect (Moon et al., 2017). And a national crib distribution program for high-risk families found that after receiving a crib with education, the share of families reporting bed sharing the night before fell from 38% to 16%, and the share whose baby slept in a crib rose from 51% to 90% (Hauck et al., 2015). The plan therefore combines ongoing messages after discharge with a safe sleep space for every family that needs one, rather than relying on teaching at the hospital alone.
Goals and Objectives
The program's goal is to eliminate preventable sleep-related infant deaths in the county. Because deaths are rare and numbers small, the objectives focus on practices that can be measured sooner. By the end of year two: 90% of mothers delivering at county hospitals will be enrolled in a 60-day safe sleep text program before discharge; every family enrolled in WIC or home visiting who lacks a crib will receive a portable crib and teaching; and, on the county's postpartum survey, the share of parents reporting back sleeping will rise from 81% to 90% and the share reporting room sharing without bed sharing from 62% to 75%.
Partners and Roles
Each partner was chosen because it reaches families at a different moment, and each has a defined role.
| Partner | Role in the program |
|---|---|
| Public health nursing division | Leads the program, trains partners, manages crib supply and data, chairs monthly partner meetings |
| Two birthing hospitals | Enroll mothers in the text program before discharge; model safe sleep on the postpartum unit |
| WIC clinics | Screen for a safe sleep space at certification visits; distribute cribs; reinforce messages |
| Nurse home visiting program | Check the sleep space at each visit; teach relatives who share care |
| Pediatric practices and clinics | Ask about sleep at the first three well visits and refer families without a crib |
| Fire department and EMS | Check for a safe sleep space during home safety visits; carry portable cribs for urgent needs |
| Child fatality review team | Reviews every infant death and reports patterns to the partners |
| Faith and community organizations | Host sessions for grandparents and fathers; help reach families wary of agencies |
Activities and Timeline
In the first six months, the nursing division will sign agreements with partners, adapt an existing text program's content into English and Spanish, train staff at every partner site using a single two-hour curriculum so that all families hear the same message, and establish a crib supply through a national distribution program and a local hospital foundation. Hospitals will begin enrollment in month four. In months seven through twelve, WIC, home visiting, pediatric practices and the fire department will add screening and referral. Community sessions for grandparents and fathers will begin in year two, since relatives often care for infants and may follow older advice such as placing babies on their stomachs.
Evaluation
The evaluation measures process, practices and, over the long term, deaths. Process measures include the proportion of mothers enrolled in the text program, the number of cribs distributed and to whom, and the number of staff trained at each partner. Practice measures come from the county's postpartum survey at two months, which will ask about sleep position, location and bedding. Because a handful of deaths can change a small county's rate, deaths will be monitored through the child fatality review team over five years, and every death will be reviewed for whether the family had contact with the program and what was missed. Partners will review data together each quarter, and the plan will be revised each year.
Sustainability
Costs are modest: portable cribs, text program licenses, training time and a part-time coordinator. Funding in the first two years will come from the state's maternal and child health block grant allocation and a hospital foundation grant. After that, the goal is to build the activities into partners' routine work, such as WIC certification and hospital discharge, so that the program continues without a separate budget.
Conclusion
Sleep-related infant deaths in the county share a pattern that no single agency can change alone. This plan brings together eight partners, each reaching families at a different moment, around one consistent message and a safe sleep space for every baby. Its design follows evidence that ongoing messages after discharge and crib provision change practices, and its evaluation measures those practices while tracking deaths over the longer term. The public health nurse's role is to lead the partnership, keep it consistent and use its data to improve it.
References
Hauck, F. R., Tanabe, K. O., McMurry, T., & Moon, R. Y. (2015). Evaluation of Bedtime Basics for Babies: A national crib distribution program to reduce the risk of sleep-related sudden infant deaths. Journal of Community Health, 40(3), 457-463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9957-0
Moon, R. Y., Carlin, R. F., Hand, I., Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, & Committee on Fetus and Newborn. (2022). Sleep-related infant deaths: Updated 2022 recommendations for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment. Pediatrics, 150(1), Article e2022057990. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-057990
Moon, R. Y., Hauck, F. R., Colson, E. R., Kellams, A. L., Geller, N. L., Heeren, T., Kerr, S. M., Drake, E. E., Tanabe, K., McClain, M., & Corwin, M. J. (2017). The effect of nursing quality improvement and mobile health interventions on infant sleep practices: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 318(4), 351-359. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.8982
How this N 680 Module 8 example is structured
Aspen does not publish N680 module prompts, so check your classroom for the exact instructions. This example states the local problem from review data, summarizes the evidence that shapes the design, sets measurable objectives, assigns roles to eight partners in a table, lays out activities and timeline, and plans evaluation and sustainability.
N680 Module 8 questions, answered
What does N680 Module 8 usually ask for?
Aspen's N680 description emphasizes collaboration with many disciplines, so an interdisciplinary program plan for a population health problem is a typical final assignment. Check your classroom for the prompt.
How should partners be described in a program plan?
Name each partner, explain why it was chosen, and state its specific role and responsibilities, ideally in a table, rather than listing organizations.
What if the main outcome is too rare to measure quickly?
Use intermediate outcomes that the evidence links to the main one, such as safe sleep practices, and track the rare outcome over a longer period.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.