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 African American Outreach
Since the American Academy of Pediatrics 1992 recommendation to place infants to sleep
on their backs and the launch of the Back To Sleep Campaign
in 1994, SIDS rates in the U.S. have decreased dramatically
by more than 50%. Despite this success, the SIDS rates and
the rate of stomach sleeping within the African American
population remains 2 to 3 times that of white infants.
To
address this disparity, a new component of the Back to Sleep
campaign, specifically aimed at reducing the incidence of
SIDS among African Americans has been implemented. The goal
of this initiative is to encourage the development of a
community-based approach to the elimination of this
disparity. Leading this outreach initiative is First
Candle/SIDS Alliance, the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development (NICHD), the National Black Child
Development Institute, the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
- NICHD,
in cooperation with these partner organizations, has
developed a Resource Kit for Reducing the Risk of Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in African American
Communities (http://156.40.88.3/sids/Resource_kit.htm). The kit contains culturally appropriate materials
such as fact sheets, brochures, magnets, a video, and a
leader’s guide to lead discussion groups in various
community settings on ways to reduce the risk of SIDS.
- Zeta
Phi Beta Outreach Effort – First Candle/SIDS Alliance and the Program Support Center are partnering with the Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority Stork’s Nest program to take the SIDS
risk reduction and education programs to African
American communities throughout the nation.
- This partnership was developed in the summer of 2002 to
focus on high-risk mothers. The Zetas coordinate a prenatal
care education campaign, called Stork's Nest, in 100
sites nationwide serving approximately 6,000 families. While
the Stork's Nest program is predominately focused on
African American mothers who have a history of substance
use, the program offers enough autonomy to allow Stork's
Nest to serve Hispanics, Native Americans, fathers, teen
mothers and other populations at high-risk in their
communities. www.zphib1920.org/.
By
conducting trainings in communities around the country, we
hope to equip individuals and organizations with the
information and skills necessary to develop outreach
activities within their respective communities.
For
more information, please email kathleen.graham@firstcandle.org or call 800.638.7437.
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