Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infancy (SUDI)—defined as the sudden and unexpected death of an otherwise healthy infant, in which there is no immediately obvious cause of death—occur predominantly in Queensland’s most vulnerable populations. These include families known to the child protection system, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and other families experiencing social disadvantage and multiple adversities.
Infants known to the child protection system are significantly over-represented in the SUDI population. Half of the infant deaths reviewed by the Queensland Child Death Review Board (the Board) in its first year of operation died suddenly and unexpectedly.* In recognition of this, the Board Secretariat commissioned a review of the existing literature regarding SUDI within the child protection population with a view to informing system improvements in Queensland. Dr Rebecca Shipstone, Dr Julie McEniery and Dr Diane Cruice, researchers from Queensland Paediatric Quality Council (QPQC) were identified as best placed to conduct this research.
This Issues Paper provides an overview of SUDI among families known to the child protection system. It reviews existing literature to identify the components of a successful intervention model for vulnerable families.