General practitioners’ familiarity with sudden infant death syndrome in the uk: the results of the sids project

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide information about General Practitioners’ (GPs) knowledge and behaviour about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and its risk factors in the United Kingdom. We investigated if GPs knew that the supine sleep position is best for reducing the risk of SIDS. We also explored their overall knowledge regarding all SIDS risk factors and their recommendations to parents. Approximately 13% of GPs did not give the correct answer about the safest sleep position. Being female, young age, having children, the number of practices where the GP works and direct experience of a case of SIDS resulted in being the strongest determinants of knowledge. On the contrary, a postgraduate title in child health and paediatrics did not significantly increase GPs’s knowledge of SIDS. Significant differences among regions emerged and were likely to be the result of training and prevention campaigns undertaken in these regions.