Summary Of The Back To Sleep Campaign

1. The goal of the Back to Sleep Campaign was to reduce the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SID), also known as “crib death,” by educating caregivers about the importance of placing infants to sleep on their backs. The target audience for the campaign was parents, family members, child care providers, health professionals, and all other caregivers of infants. The Back to Sleep Campaign used a variety of communication strategies to reach its target audience and educate them about ways to reduce the risk of SID.

The first strategy was direct mail, which involved sending educational materials directly to the target audience. This could include informational brochures, posters, and other resources. The second strategy was interpersonal

The Health Belief Model is a theoretical model used to understand and predict health behaviors, and it can be applied to the Back to Sleep Campaign to understand why it was successful in reducing the incidence of SID. Three key concepts from the model that are relevant to the campaign are perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and perceived benefits.

Perceived susceptibility refers to an individual's perception of their likelihood of developing a particular health problem. In the case of the Back to Sleep Campaign, the target audience's perception of the likelihood of their infant dying from SID was increased through educational messages that emphasized the risk of SID when infants are placed to sleep on their stomachs (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth, n.d.). This heightened awareness of the risk of SID likely motivated caregivers to change their behavior and place their infants to sleep on their backs instead.

Perceived severity refers to an individual's perception of the seriousness of a particular health problem. In the case of the Back to Sleep Campaign, the seriousness of SID was emphasized through educational messages that described the consequences of the disease, such as death. This heightened awareness of the seriousness of SID likely motivated caregivers to change their behavior and place their infants to sleep on their backs, as they saw the behavior change as necessary to protect their infant's

The Back to Sleep Campaign has been widely recognized as a great public health accomplishment. Evaluation research has shown that the campaign was effective in reducing the incidence of SID, with the percent of infants placed to sleep in the prone position decreasing from 70% to 11.3% between 1992 and 2002 (Data and Statistics for SIDS and SUID | CDC, n.d.). This coincides with a decrease in the incidence rate of SID deaths from 1.2 to .57 deaths per 1000 live births during the same period.

Despite its success, there may be ways to further improve the campaign. For example, additional resources could be directed towards reaching communities that may be less likely to receive the campaign messages. The message itself could also be refined and more culturally sensitive to ensure it is relevant to all members of the target audience. Additionally, the campaign could partner with other organizations and stakeholders to ensure that all aspects of infant care, not just sleep position, are addressed in a comprehensive manner. By doing so, the campaign could increase its impact and help to reduce the risk of SID even