Modeling of infant safe sleep practice in a newborn nursery: a quality improvement initiative.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of infant mortality in the US. The American Academy of Pediatrics has provided recommendations for infant sleeping position and environment to decrease SIDS rates. These recommendations reinforce the importance of modeling safe sleep practices in the newborn nursery. Although many quality improvement initiatives have been undertaken to improve safe sleep in the nursery, such efforts are sparse in low-volume birth hospitals. This project aimed to improve infant sleep practices in a 10-bed level I nursery using visual cues (crib cards) and nursing education. We defined "safe sleep practice" if a newborn slept in a safe position in a flat bassinet and in a safe environment. We measured safe sleep practices before and after the intervention using an audit tool. As a result, safe sleep practices improved from 32% (30/95) preintervention to 75% (86/115) postintervention (P < 0.01). This study demonstrates that implementing a quality improvement initiative to improve infant sleep practices in a low-volume nursery is feasible and impactful.

Defining patient-centered research priorities in pediatric dermatology.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Patient and caregiver perspectives are critical in understanding dermatologic disease impact, presentation, and management in children. The Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) Patient Advisory Committee (PtAC), a group of patient representatives and parents of children with cutaneous disease, pursued a multistep, iterative, consensus-building process to identify comprehensive, high-priority research needs. METHODS: Building on discussions at the 2020 PeDRA Annual Conference, a research prioritization survey was developed and completed by PtAC members. Survey themes were aggregated and workshopped by the PtAC through a series of facilitated calls. Emerging priorities were refined in collaboration with additional PeDRA patient community members at the 2021 PeDRA Annual Conference. Subsequently, a final actionable list was agreed upon. RESULTS: Fourteen PtAC members (86.7% female) representing patients with alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis, vascular birthmarks, congenital melanocytic nevi, ectodermal dysplasias, epidermolysis bullosa, Gorlin syndrome, hidradenitis suppurativa, ichthyosis, pemphigus, psoriasis, Sturge-Weber syndrome, and pachyonychia congenita completed the survey. Following serial PtAC meetings, 60 research needs were identified from five domains: psychosocial challenges, health care navigation/disease management, causes/triggers, treatments to preserve or save life, and treatments to preserve or save quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Many pediatric dermatology research priorities align across affected communities and may drive meaningful, patient-centric initiatives and investigations.