The National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has developed a continuing education program to educate nurses about risk reduction strategies for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Created in collaboration with the National Institute of Nursing Research, First Candle/SIDS Alliance, and national nursing organizations, the curriculum provides evidence-based practice recommendations for communicating risk reduction strategies to parents and families of many cultures. The program also emphasizes the important role played by the nurse in teaching risk reduction through nonverbal behaviors.

The curriculum is approved for 1.1 contact hours of continuing education from the Maryland Nurses Association. Nurses can receive CE credit by completing the module through self-study, or an instructor can lead a group of nurses through the program to receive credit. Currently, the curriculum is provided in the form of a booklet that can be ordered (free) from NICHD or downloaded through NICHD's Web site, http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sidsnursesce/. Multiple copies can be requested. An interactive online version of the program is expected to be available soon.

The SIDS rate has declined in the United States since the introduction of the Back to Sleep campaign, but the rate of decrease has slowed in recent years, and SIDS remains the leading cause of death in infants between 1 month and 1 year of age.1

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