Iowa: Pepsi and Shaken Baby Prevention

Google brought this announcement from the Denison Bulletin our way today.

There's no moment like the last moment...vote by ,March 31 April 30 (voting was extended) [link to voting page] to help Prevent Child Abuse Iowa meet an interesting Pepsi challenge:

Help the Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Program stop shaken baby syndrome

Published: Friday, March 26, 2010

The Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Program submitted an idea to the Pepsi Refresh program, which is awarding more than a million dollars in grants to deserving programs chosen by popular vote.

Amber Russell, ICAPP manager as part of Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, explained that the grant would be used to purchase and distribute 10,000 copies of the Period of PURPLE Crying DVD. The educational DVD was developed by The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome to help new parents understand the characteristics of their baby’s cries.

The ICAPP program is designed to help prevent shaken baby syndrome in Iowa. Only the top 10 vote getters in the $25,000 class will be awarded a grant and the ICAPP project is currently ranked 45th.

To vote for the project visit www.refresheverything.com/pcaiowa. Voting ends March 31 April 30.

Under 5: Abusive Head Trauma

Overall, the Fourth National Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect reports that the incidence of child abuse seems to be decreasing (an interesting take from Baltimore on those statistics - link)

Unfortunately, a recent report by CDC researchers estimates that 400 childen a year under age 5 still die from abusive head trauma - and half of the children who die as a result of child abuse are younger than 1. Link to abstract

Child maltreatment fatalities in children under 5: Findings from the National Violence Death Reporting System.

J Klevens and RT Leeb - Child Abuse Negl, March 19, 2010.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway,
Mailstop F-64, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the distribution of child maltreatment fatalities of children under 5 by age, sex, race/ethnicity, type of maltreatment, and relationship to alleged perpetrator using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS).

STUDY DESIGN: Two independent coders reviewed information from death certificates, medical examiner and police reports corresponding to all deaths in children less than 5 years of age reported to NVDRS in 16 states.

RESULTS: Of the 1,374 deaths for children under 5 reported to NVDRS, 600 were considered attributable to child maltreatment. Over a half of the 600 victims of child maltreatment in this age group were under 1 year old, 59% were male, 42% non-Hispanic Whites, and 38% were non-Hispanic Blacks.

Two thirds of child maltreatment fatalities in children under 5 were classified as being due to abusive head trauma (AHT), 27.5% as other types of physical abuse, and 10% as neglect. Based on these data, fathers or their substitutes were significantly more likely than mothers to be identified as alleged perpetrators for AHT and other types of physical abuse, while mothers were more likely to be assigned responsibility for neglect.

CONCLUSIONS: Among children under 5 years, children under 1 are the main age group contributing to child maltreatment fatalities in the NVDRS. AHT is the main cause of death in these data. These findings are limited by underascertainment of cases and fair inter-rater reliability of coding.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest the need to develop and evaluate interventions targeting AHT to reduce the overall number of child maltreatment deaths in young children. These interventions should make special efforts to include fathers and their substitutes.

Brain Injury Awareness Month: CDC Reports TBI is Rising

It's Brain Injury Awareness Month... a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and reported on MedPage underlines why awareness is important...(link to study)

A couple of facts leap out:

Boys aged 4 and younger have the highest rates of TBI-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths combined (a statistic supported by a recent study that appears in the Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect: reseachers looked at deaths from child abuse in child under age 5, and found more than 50% of the victims were under age 1, and inflicted head injuries were most likely to be the cause of death...)

Assaults cause about 10% of traumatic brain injuries. They accounted for 2.9% of TBIs in children 14 and younger.

Resources:
CDC Brain Injury Awareness Month - link
Brain Injury Association - link
Brain Injury Awareness Month - activity calendar - Brainline.org - link
Brainline Brain Injury Awareness Month video - link
March 17, 2010 was Brain Injury Awareness Day on the Hill - link
Membership Congressional Brain Injury Task Force (2009)

CDC Study Examines Rising Incidence of TBI
By Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: March 19, 2010

WASHINGTON -- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) account for 1.7 million hospital visits and 52,000 deaths each year -- almost a third of the nation's injury-related fatalities, the CDC reported.

The agency's study found that the incidence rate of TBI-related emergency department visits and hospitalization increased by 14.4% and 19.5%, respectively, during the 2002-2006 survey period. About 75% of those injuries were classified as concussions or other mild forms of TBI.

Its report, entitled "Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Death," CDC found that TBIs tend to be concentrated among the young and old.

Children under 5, teens 15 to 19, and adults 65 and older are most likely to experience TBI.
* * *
Falls were the most likely known cause of TBI (35.2%), with the highest rates among children under 5 and seniors 75 and older. ... Among all age groups, the next leading cause of TBI was traffic accidents (17.3%), which accounted for the highest proportion (31.8%) of TBI deaths. Striking or being struck by objects accounted for 16.5% of TBIs, while assaults accounted for 10%. CDC could not determine the cause for 21% of the injuries.

The study is part of the CDC's "Heads Up" program to provide information to healthcare professionals and patients on preventing, recognizing, and managing TBI.

TBI may have short- and long-term consequences and can affect thought, perception, language, and emotions. Understanding the dangers of TBI are essential, the CDC said in a statement, because "consequences may not be readily apparent."

SBS Education: Central New York

A short video from Central New York on educating parents about Shaken Baby Syndrome, including an interview with the mother of Fajo Edwards, who was shaken in 2006.

It shows how simple prevention education can be...

Shaken Baby Awareness Stroll - April 10 Birmingham - April 25 Boston

Spring is coming (at least to the US Northeast - it may never have left Alabama).

What better time for a stroll with a few young children to raise awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome?...in Boston (April 25) or Birmingham (April 10)

April 25 - Boston --Massachusetts Citizens for Children and WCVB-TV/Channel 5 announce Boston's 4th Annual Stroll for Shaken Baby Prevention on Sunday, April 25.

Babies and toddlers will be the stars of the event, as they are pushed in strollers or carried in baby carriers and slings along Boston’s historic streets by moms, dads, grandparents and other caregivers. Link to event page.

A brief pre-Stroll ceremony will include highlights of the organization's prevention efforts, remarks from families affected by SBS, and the releasing of blue and white balloons to remember infants who have died or been injured from shaking. Strollers will meet at Christopher Columbus Park in the North End, walk through portions of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the Freedom Trail, and then wind their way through the North End back to Christopher Columbus Park.

Other sponsors joining with WCVB-TV include Boston Parents Paper, Isis Maternity and Kohl’s, the event's original sponsor whose Massachusetts stores will be contributing funds and volunteers to support the event. Uppababy Strollers, Baby Banz, BabyLegs, and Warm as a Lamb will also provide prizes and free products to strollers again this year.

April 10 - Birminghan - UAB to Host Inaugural Shaken Baby Prevention 4K Stroll and Education Fair

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics will host its inaugural Shaken Baby Prevention Program 4K Stroll and Education Fair Saturday, April 10 on the UAB Campus Green, University Boulevard, between 14th and 16th streets South. Link to brochure.

The fundraising walk will support the UAB Shaken Baby Prevention Program in its efforts to provide child-abuse prevention education in all birthing hospitals, licensed daycares and appropriate community settings across Alabama.

Early registration is $20 per person or $100 per team for up to six people and ends March 31. After that day, walk registration will be $25 per person or $125 per team for up to six people. Kids under 12 walk free. For more information or to register go to www.medicine.uab.edu/stroll or call 205-975-5659.

There will be a sidewalk stroll path along the UAB Campus Green for families with stroller-age children and a walk path around the perimeter of the Campus Green for fast-pace walkers. There also will be a kids zone with free games, crafts and activities for kids of all ages, an education fair featuring nonprofit agencies working to prevent child abuse and merchants and vendors with products and services to sample.

The UAB Shaken Baby Prevention Program is a hospital-based maternity education program within UAB Hospital, Cooper Green Mercy Hospital and UAB Medical West designed to decrease the number of child-abuse and shaken baby syndrome victims in Alabama. Through a partnership with the Children's Trust Fund of Alabama and the Alabama Child Death Review System, parents are educated on the dangers of shaking small children and taught healthy ways to respond to infant crying before they leave the hospital with their new baby.
* * *
Along with the hospital-based work, the Shaken Baby Prevention Program is active in the community. The program administers community and school education events plus training sessions for nurses, social workers and child-care providers to increase awareness of the dangers of shaking an infant and to teach safe and effective methods to calm a crying infant.

AMCHP Conference: The Zen of a SBS Presentation without a Presenter

Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the 2010 AMCHP Conference, but I did do this presentation that's available via the magic of Scribd.

If you're lucky to be there, check out the presentation by Dr. Richard Volpe of the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation's SBS Prevention Project (and check out "Preventing Inflicted Infant Head Trauma: Best Practices") , and Sally Fogerty and Sally Kerschner of the Children's Safety Network, on "Going to Scale" with injury prevention programs (and sample some of the CSN webinars on violence and injury prevention)

Great opportunity to learn about two regional collaborations to prevent SBS and ATV injuries while discussing the challenges in expanding successful initiatives.

11:00 AM Tuesday.

Session ID: H5 - Workshop
Taking Injury Prevention to Scale: New Approaches at the State and Community Levels

To reduce injury deaths in rural areas, the Children’s Safety Network formed a community of practice (COP) consisting of six states that met monthly to learn about rural injury issues, share resources, and develop prevention strategies. The COP offers a model of multistate, cross-agency collaboration to address the disparity in rural and urban injury rates, focusing on four key injury issues: teen motor vehicle crashes, teen suicides, ATV injuries, and farm injuries. This workshop describes the COP and explains how each participating state developed and implemented an action plan to adapt evidence-based interventions for use in rural communities.

Since it was implemented at Children's Hospital of Buffalo, the Upstate New York Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) Prevention Project has reduced the incidence of SBS and other inflicted head injuries by more than 50%. It has been adopted and extended to culturally diverse settings such as the Ontario SBS Prevention Project, which is part of Ontario's provincial injury prevention initiative, and the Centers for Disease Control, which have funded statewide prevention projects in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. During this workshop, participants will learn to 1) develop effective strategies and coalitions to reframe and support prevention initiatives; 2) develop, implement, and support hospital-based prevention education for new parents in MCH settings; 3) respond to common challenges and obstacles to adoption of prevention initiatives; and 4) use advocacy tools and techniques in the legislative process to support adoption of prevention legislation.

AMCHPSKIPPER03082010

Free - "Are You Tough Enough" SBS Awareness Poster

Just in case you’re not on the email list from the Center, thought you might be interested in this offer… I’ve highlighted the operative term…FREE (well, S&H).Kudos to the National Center for making this Gentle reminder for parents available in time for April.Please pass it along to anyone else who might be interested.

April is Prevent Child Abuse Month

Free “Are You Tough Enough” Posters

From the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shipping and Handling Not Included

Sizes Available: 18 x 25

Place your order online at https://secure.dontshake.org/buymaterials/ or

by phone at 801-627-3399

COUPON CODE: FreePoster

ITEM NUMBERS: POST-TUF-25

Hurry -Offer Expires 4/30/2010

Mind Hacks - Baby Brains

In the blog roll, you'll notice Mind Hacks.

It's an always engaging blog that looks at a fascinating variety of things psychological.

For example, a recent post covers two articles related to baby (and mommy) brains.

All aboard the baby brain:

The March edition of The Psychologist has just appeared online and has two freely available articles: one article investigates whether women really suffer a reduction in mental sharpness during pregnancy, and another interviews baby psychologist Alison Gopnik about her work.