Infant Safe Sleep Practices: Using Simulation to Enhance Role Modeling Behaviors

Approximately 3,400 annual infant deaths in the United States are classified as a sudden unexpected infant death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). Nurses serve as critical role models for caregivers. Despite a knowledge of infant safe sleep, nurses may not align their behaviors with best practices. The use of simulation can be incorporated into annual competency days to enhance awareness and integration of infant safe sleep practices into nursing practice across multiple hospital units. The purpose of this project was to use simulation in the hospital setting in a specialty area to improve knowledge, skill, and therapeutic communication in providing caregiver education to improve adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics' (2016) infant safe sleep guidelines.