title: Assessment of parental awareness of the shaken baby syndrome in Ireland.
abstract: Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) results in cerebral trauma. Creating awareness through education may improve parental response to a distressed infant. We aim to assess current parental understanding of SBS and identify knowledge gaps. A prospective assessment was carried out in two independent maternity hospitals (National Maternity Hospital (NMH) and Midland Regional Hospital (MRH)) over a 4-month period. Multi-dimensional questionnaires were distributed to parents (n = 233) and results were assessed anonymously. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS21 software. Two hundred thirty-three participants were included: n = 114 (NMH), n = 119 (MRH). Fifty-four percent (n = 62, NMH) and 50 % (n = 60, MRH) had never heard of SBS. Of those who had, media was the commonest source: 94 % (47/50) NMH; 86 % (47/59) MRH. Less than 1 % of participants obtained information through a health care provider. Nearly all respondents wanted further information, regardless of whether they had prior knowledge (100 % (NMH); 99.2 % (MRH)). Participants wanted information delivered via a midwife (51 % (58/114) NMH; 45 % (54/119) MRH), with reading material (61 % (69/114) NMH; 59 % (70/119) MRH), during pre-natal period (50 % (57/114) NMH; 65 % (77/119) MRH). Importantly, parents of Irish origin were more likely to have heard of SBS compared to those of non-Irish origin (p = 0.026 (NMH), p = 0.020 (MRH)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Half of all participants had no prior knowledge of SBS, with majority expressing interest in learning more. Therefore, a national "Don't Shake" campaign is evolving.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  • Studies have shown that educating parents regarding shaken baby syndrome (SBS) may result in a more safe and appropriate response to infant crying [ 3 ]. • In Ireland, there is no such education provided to parents in maternity hospitals. What is New: • Just over half of our participants had not heard of SBS, and we have identified parental perceptions of SBS, and parents preferred method of anti-SBS education delivery. • This research will act as a launching platform for an anti-SBS campaign in Ireland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, National Maternity Hospital, Holles St, Dublin 2, Ireland. aman.k.mann@live.ie.
authors.forename: Amandeep K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar, Co, Westmeath, Ireland. drbirendrarai@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Birendra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar, Co, Westmeath, Ireland. Farhana.sharif@hse.ie.|Department of Paediatrics, Royal College of Physicians (RCSI), Dublin 2, Ireland. Farhana.sharif@hse.ie.
authors.forename: Farhana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, National Maternity Hospital, Holles St, Dublin 2, Ireland. Cvavasseur@nmh.ie.
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vavasseur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D038642:Shaken Baby Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Abusive head trauma; Ireland; Questionnaire; Shaken baby syndrome