The Indigenous Safe Sleeping Project: Closing the Gap on Knowledge, Resources and Access in Queensland

Abstract

This report is prepared for SIDS and Kids Queensland. It ascertains safe sleeping practices and knowledge in three different Indigenous communities in Queensland: (urban) Logan, (rural) Cherbourg and (remote) Ngurupai. The report is presented in seven sections. Section 1 introduces the report. It presents information on sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), which shows that the 2009-2010 rates of SUDI were higher than any other reporting period, and that Indigenous infants died suddenly and unexpectedly at 6.8 times the rate of non-Indigenous infants. It also introduces the main tasks of the project, which are: to establish the current knowledge of safe sleeping practices and risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); to ascertain the appropriateness of the current safe sleeping resources for families and health communities; and to make recommendations for safe sleeping strategies and services to close the gap on current knowledge, resources and access.