Project Title: The Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Death in the Young (SDY) Case Registry
State Name: Connecticut
Fiscal Year: 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.946
Funding Opportunity Number: CDC-RFA-DP-23-0006
Grant Allocation Amount: Component A $85,000, Component C $150,000
Address: 410 Capitol Avenue, MS# 11 MAT, Hartford, CT 06134-0308
Contact Name: Elliann Sylvester, RN, BSN, Supervising Nurse Consultant
Phone Number: (860) 509-8089 Fax Number: (860) 509-7720
E-mail Address: Elliann.sylvester@ct.gov
Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID) refers to the sudden and unexpected death of any baby less than 1-year old who was not predisposed to mortality. SUID is likely to occur during the baby’s sleep or related to the baby’s sleep environment. One SUID case is one too many, in order to prevent these deaths, we must first determine the cause. A standardized approach to SUID death case reviews is needed determine cause, preventability, and to strengthen death investigations, certification, and reporting to produce reliable data to monitor trends and risk factors. SUID and Sudden Death in the Young (SDY) Case Registry, CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, supports SUID monitoring programs. In 2005, a web-based standardized case report tool was made available through the National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System (NFR-CRS), the system allows states to enter case data, summarize findings, review team recommendations, access and download data, and create standardized reports. This system is used for the CT Child Fatality Review Panel (CRFP) through our Office of Child Advocate (OCA). The SUID Case Registry builds on the CRFP/CDR programs already in place through NFR-CRS and will further explore SUID causes and preventability.
The CT DPH is applying for the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Death in the Young (SDY) Case Registry Funding Opportunity Components A and C with the overall intent of reducing sudden unexpected infant deaths in the state of CT. The DPH will form an Infant Mortality Review (IMR) Committee which will include SUID reviews in consultation with OCA, who currently performs the CDRs through their Child Fatality Review Panel (CFRP), in order to avoid duplication of efforts. The IMR Committee will collaboratively identify prevention strategies and disseminate information through hospitals, clinics, provider networks, Family Wellness Healthy Start (FWHS), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, legislators, the general public, and policy changing recommendations to decrease preventable SUIDs.
By the end of the project period, the CT DPH expects to have an increase in high-quality, timely data for SUID, including information on disparities and social determinants of health (SDOH), for program improvement and public health purposes; increase available data on rates of SUID, including mortality rates of categorical types of SUID; increase dissemination of data briefs/products used to inform programs and key partners to direct and tailor products distributed to disproportionately impacted communities; increase opportunities for networking, cooperation, and data sharing with communities disproportionately impacted by sleep-related infant deaths; have an increase in the number of policies and practices for systems serving families that address SDOH associated with higher risk for SUID; increase the number of implemented policies and practices to standardize and reduce inequity in investigation practices, including review of medical records, scene investigation and autopsies; increase standardized death investigation practices and reporting; increase community awareness of SUID associated factors; have increased implementation of community participatory, data driven prevention strategies for disproportionately impacted communities. The ultimate out
