Objective:  Develop and disseminate a continuing education program for nurses on SIDS risk reduction strategies.
Background:  Despite the progress of the SIDS rate declining over 50 percent in the U.S., SIDS remains the leading cause of death among infants between one month and one year of age.  Several studies show that the safe sleep message is not sufficiently reaching all segments of society.  Reducing the SIDS rate requires knowledge and action by parents, caregivers, and all health care providers.  Nurses who care for newborns and infants play a critical role in this effort because they are important role models for parents and families.   
Methods:  A new component of the Back to Sleep campaign is the Continuing Education Program on SIDS Risk Reduction: Curriculum for Nurses.  The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) in collaboration with First Candle/SIDS Alliance and several national nurse organizations developed a continuing education (CE) program on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) risk reduction and infant sleep safety.  The CE program is designed to inform pediatric, obstetric, and neonatal nurses – as well as nurses who educate family members and caregivers about caring for infants – of the latest risk reduction strategies for SIDS.  It also enhances their skills in ways to communicate this information to parents and caregivers in a culturally competent manner.
Results:  In 2007, CE courses were conducted at four national and six regional nursing conferences.  Over 2,000 nurses have completed the nursing modules and received CE credit.  Dissemination of the nurse CE include fulfilling requests for training from organizations identifying a need such as state public health associations, medical centers, and hospitals.  Nurses who complete the CE program increase their capabilities of discussing SIDS, safe sleep environments and protective factors by gaining in-depth knowledge of the most recent scientific and evidence based information and recommendations.  Based on the Social Cognitive Theory, watching the positive actions others serves a powerful motivator and predictor of parent compliance to the nurses’ risk reduction messages.       
Conclusions:  The trainings at national and regional nurse organizations, as well as hospital-based trainings provide an opportunity for nurses to come into contact with the curriculum on several levels, which can then lead to sustainability through institutionalization of the curriculum recommendations.