Abusive Head Trauma

This study examines the effectiveness of educational materials to prevent shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma (SBS/AHT). New mothers completed a questionnaire about infant crying and the frequency in which they engaged in recommended behaviors when their infants cried. The questionnaire asked about the preventative measures for SBS/AHT the mothers had been exposed to prenatally and after birth. According to exposure, the mothers were divided into three groups. Group one included women who had either viewed a DVD about infant crying and recommended actions in a prenatal class, or had received a post natal home visit by a nurse that included education and a pamphlet about crying. Group two consisted of women who had seen the DVD and had a home visit. Group three included women who had not received any of the preventive measures. The recommended behaviors of the preventions were walking …show more content…
Since an observational study was used, researchers did not control prevention material delivery and had to rely on subject report, a weakness since they could not control for all variables affecting prevention delivery. Another weakness was the unequal number of subjects in each of the three prevention groups: 61% of subjects had either watched a DVD or received a home health visit, 25% of subjects were exposed to both prevention practices, and 13.6% had not experienced any preventative education. Without equally numbered groups, it is difficult to determine whether outcome measures truly reflect the effect of preventative measures in reducing the risk of SBS/AHT. Another weakness noted by the authors of this study is the possibility of pamphlet exposure. Women with no preventative education stated reading the pamphlet (although they had not received the pamphlet), which might skew