All Babies Cry: Shaken Baby Syndrome Parent Education Toolkit

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Abusive head trauma or Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is the most common cause of death from child abuse. Hospital-based, parent education programs targeting parents of newborns have been proven effective in reducing significantly the incidence of abusive head injuries. Massachusetts and eight other states have adopted legislation mandating education designed to prevent SBS. Federal and additional state mandates may be forthcoming. Males - biological fathers, mothers' boyfriends and stepfathers - are the most frequent perpetrators of SBS. Infant crying is the most common precursor to incidents of SBS. Building on preliminary work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and The Medical Foundation, Vida Health Communications, Inc. will produce and evaluate "All Babies Cry", an educational media package for parents of newborns. It includes a media part to be shown to parents in the hospital, and a DVD and booklet to take home, containing explicit demonstrations of strategies for soothing a crying infant and managing parental stress. The media format is expected to appeal to men more than printed material alone. Research and development activities throughout Phase I and II will include: 1) completing development and production of DVD media in two parts and an accompanying booklet (all in English and Spanish) with formative (Phase I) and summative (Phase II) input from parents and Experts; 2) a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the media package in improving fathers' knowledge of infant behavior and parental stress, behavior to reduce and cope with infant crying and to assess and manage their own stress, realistic expectations of their infant's behavior, greater belief in the efficacy of infant soothing strategies, greater perceived ability to implement them, and greater intention to do so. At the conclusion of Phase II, Vida will have a completed educational media package that has been thoroughly evaluated and will meet the requirements of the State of Massachusetts Department of Public Health Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Initiative for distribution of all new parents in the Commonwealth. The program will then be adapted as needed to meet other states mandates and marketed nationally. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Infant crying is considered the most common precursor to shaking a baby. "All Babies Cry" addresses critical public health concerns surrounding the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) by filling a need for parent education about normal infant crying behavior, strategies for soothing a crying infant, as well as strategies to assess and manage parental stress in response to infant crying. The proposed media is being designed for use in the increasing number of states with mandates to provide all new parents with education intended to prevent SBS.