LEAH HENRY-TANNER: So, this section
you can find in the workbook– the yellow workbook,
chapters 3, 4, and 5. So, let's start thinking about
ways to reach our communities and their different– and our different community members.
The strategies in this session– in this lesson–
encompass three over-arching activities:
getting to know your audience; number two, taking action to spread
safe sleep messages in the community; and then three,
planning and sustaining a Healthy Native Babies Project here in your own community
or with the people that you work with.
Who needs SIDS education? [murmurs]
I think we've been really clear as we've been
working together today, that it's everybody that
needs SIDS risk reduction education.
So, everyone who cares for infants or cares about babies
needs SIDS education.
So, parents and parents-to-be certainly are a key group
that we want to reach. Also include foster parents, because we know a lot of
families– a lot of babies are living in foster situations,
often with relatives. And so they need SIDS risk reduction
education. And then, everybody in the community–
elders, as we demonstrated in the scenarios,
elders are a real resource for communities– for families.
And so, they need the right information to be able to share
with the families and everybody that they come in contact with.
Youth are also an important group that we need to reach.
Often, youth are taking care of younger siblings
or babysitting. So, they need to know the ways
to reduce the risk of SIDS. And then, other families and friends.
So many people are working really hard, and they leave
their children with trusted friends or other adults,
and they watch the babies. So, anybody who takes care
of a baby needs to have SIDS risk reduction education.
Childcare providers are also an important group that need to have
SIDS risk reduction education. Here in Washington State
there's been some babies that are dying in
child care places, and so there's been
a lot of attention at the legislature on– there was a roundtable
that was convened a couple months ago, specifically addressing
SIDS and child care providers. And so, there
is definitely a need to educate those folks.
So, home daycares and then other licensed day cares as well.
Everybody needs SIDS risk reduction education.
GERADINE SIMPKINS: Well, and one of the things that I find stunning
is that 20% of the infants who die
of SIDS are in the care of somebody other than the parent.
And so, often that means that in a– in a child care
situation. I mean, that's one fifth.
Right? Of all the SIDS babies...
That's a stunning statistic to me. LEAH HENRY-TANNER: Mmm hmm.
We talked about this too. Health care providers
also needs SIDS risk reduction education. We were talking about
doctors and nurses, who weren't necessarily giving
good information to families. And so, having a connection
to providers is also really important to share this information with them.
So, doctors and dentists, nurses, pharmacists
and public health educators,
as well as emergency responders– first responders who are coming and having to
come into some really intense situations
they also could benefit from SIDS risk reduction education.
And then again, all community members. Everybody should
have this information. Everybody who takes care of babies should have this information.
GERADINE SIMPKINS: So, good relationships, that's something that we were talking about–
Did you plant that purposely to give that to me? [laughter]
Something we were talking about, in terms of how important it is that when we
build those good relationships, that we're most likely to get into
people's minds and hearts.
So be consistent. It's really important to be consistent with the message.
And, I think we were talking about that in that one group that you were in.
Same information, same messages, and same images
and methods. So it's not... it's not good
for us to give this group this information, and then this group this information,
because it's so confusing. Because as
Maria and I were talking about earlier. When we... when we were raising our babies
everything was different. All the information is different.
So, it's really important for those of us– we're trying to reeducate
the entire culture really– that we be– good information and messages
but same images, same methods– be really consistent.
And, why is it important? Because, if we, for example, help parents understand
the importance– and their families understand the importance of back sleeping,
but then they take the infant to a child care center that doesn't
have that kind of a protocol, and they sleep the baby
on the stomach... those babies are eight times higher risk for SIDS.
Babies who have already been back sleeping and then are switched to a
belly sleeping. Isn't that an amazing statistic? [murmuring]
Be effective. So, one of the things that
this–these stations were really, really good at
for, and especially, I think this one here, where you're
trying to teach people about that safe environment, is that
guilt, fear, shame– all of those things are the wrong way to go at it.
If we try to undermine a parent
or a care giver's innate love for and innate
smarts and wisdom and knowledge, we're... we're...
they're gonna shut us off. So, it's important to use really good
techniques when teaching, and to give praise
and to congratulate people, and to just continue to let people know
we understand that you as the mother, father, caregiver
consider this baby the most important thing. You know?
That you– we know that. We know you're smart. We know you want the best
for your baby. So, always give the kinds of things that will open people's
um... ears to hearing the parts of the messages.
You gotta make people feel good, before they'll hear the message. Right?
You don't make them feel good, they're not going to hear your message. They're going to turn you off.
So, let's talk about some special audiences, some hard to reach groups.
Remember, there's hidden groups all over our communities. Go to where they are,
because sometimes they might not be able to come to where you are
for a variety of reasons. Go to classes, health fairs, gatherings,
and collaborate with the community outreach. What's really nice about this meeting
and these kinds of sessions that we teach– is that there are
those of you from other groups, and you can cross... cross-pollinate
and cross-train with one another. So, you know, this group
might already know some things that this group might find helpful
about going to, probably, hard-to-reach groups. You know, for sure.
So, talk to one another. So, here are some of the
special audiences: the homeless, the incarcerated
those using alcohol or substances,
families affected by mental health problems,
and families that are FASD, FAS... FAS and FAS– yeah...
So, these are the special audiences
that really need our attention. So, when reaching out, be persistent.
Continue to go where the people are. It doesn't do us any good
to have all this great information and all these wonderful brochures,
if they're sitting in the office somewhere and the people who are
on the streets, or incarcerated, or don't have transportation
don't ever see them. So, go out to where the people are.