The Interface Among Poverty, Air Mattress Industry Trends, Policy, and Infant Safety. Am J Public Health 2017 Jun;107(6):945-949
Date
04/21/2017Pubmed ID
28426294Pubmed Central ID
PMC5425853DOI
10.2105/AJPH.2017.303709Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85020680396 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 3 CitationsAbstract
Infants can suffocate on air mattresses, even when the mattress is fully inflated. The interfacing issues of poverty, the bedbug epidemic, and changes in the design and marketing of air mattresses may be increasing consumer use of air mattresses as primary sleep environments and thus increasing the potential for infant death. Despite recent changes to improve air mattress safety labeling, the National Child Death Review Case Reporting System found that between 2004 and 2015 across 24 states, an air mattress was the incident sleep place for 108 infants whose deaths were either during sleep or in a sleep environment. At the same time, design components such as inflatable headboards and memory foam pillow tops potentially increase the hazard to infants, and marketing changes represent air mattresses as a preferred low-cost primary sleep environment. Analysis of current data surveillance systems, published position statements, and consumer materials from national organizations and federal agencies reveal opportunities for changing policy to better protect infants from this hazard.
Author List
Doering JJ, Salm Ward TCAuthors
Jennifer Doering PhD Associate Professor in the Nursing department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeTrina Salm Ward PhD, APSW Assistant Professor in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare department at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AsphyxiaBeds
Consumer Product Safety
Equipment Design
Humans
Industry
Infant
Infant Mortality
Policy
Poverty
