The Baby Box Study
Mentor 1
Jennifer Doering
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
27-4-2018 1:00 PM
Description
In Milwaukee, African American babies die at a rate 3 times higher than white babies. The second leading cause of infant death is unsafe sleep. One proposed intervention to minimize unsafe sleep being used by several health systems and public health agencies is baby box distribution. The objective of this study is to explore the perception of baby boxes by caregivers of infants in Milwaukee and the surrounding area. This descriptive study recruited a convenience sample of participants who met the following inclusion criteria: 1) caregiver of an infant 0-12 months, 2) living in Wisconsin, 3) currently have a baby box. Potential participants were recruited via social media and recruitment flyers placed in baby boxes distributed by hospitals and agencies. Surveys questions were asked by phone and using an online Qualtrics link. Data collection is ongoing. To date, participant caregiver demographics include a mean age of 28 years (range 17 to 38), 14 years of education, and 50%white/43% African-American/33% Hispanic/7%unreported. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the date. All caregivers were mothers who reported receiving the box from Hospitals (25%), community center or neighborhood agency (18.75%), health department (6.25%), home visit (6.25%), as a gift (25%), or through personal purchase (6.25%). When asked where caregivers would have placed the infant had a box not been available 30 % said ‘crib’ or ‘bassinet’, 26% ‘play yard’, 8% ‘in an adult bed with parent or another person’. 79% of participants reported that their babies are currently still using the baby box and 21% reported that their babies stopped using the baby box at an average of four months. Overall, baby boxes seemed to be positively received. Further research is needed to identify the effect of the baby box on safe sleep practices.
The Baby Box Study
Union Wisconsin Room
In Milwaukee, African American babies die at a rate 3 times higher than white babies. The second leading cause of infant death is unsafe sleep. One proposed intervention to minimize unsafe sleep being used by several health systems and public health agencies is baby box distribution. The objective of this study is to explore the perception of baby boxes by caregivers of infants in Milwaukee and the surrounding area. This descriptive study recruited a convenience sample of participants who met the following inclusion criteria: 1) caregiver of an infant 0-12 months, 2) living in Wisconsin, 3) currently have a baby box. Potential participants were recruited via social media and recruitment flyers placed in baby boxes distributed by hospitals and agencies. Surveys questions were asked by phone and using an online Qualtrics link. Data collection is ongoing. To date, participant caregiver demographics include a mean age of 28 years (range 17 to 38), 14 years of education, and 50%white/43% African-American/33% Hispanic/7%unreported. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the date. All caregivers were mothers who reported receiving the box from Hospitals (25%), community center or neighborhood agency (18.75%), health department (6.25%), home visit (6.25%), as a gift (25%), or through personal purchase (6.25%). When asked where caregivers would have placed the infant had a box not been available 30 % said ‘crib’ or ‘bassinet’, 26% ‘play yard’, 8% ‘in an adult bed with parent or another person’. 79% of participants reported that their babies are currently still using the baby box and 21% reported that their babies stopped using the baby box at an average of four months. Overall, baby boxes seemed to be positively received. Further research is needed to identify the effect of the baby box on safe sleep practices.
