Shaken Baby Syndrome is becoming increasingly better understood as leading not just to infant death, but to serious brain injury. Purpose. Community perceptions about SBS (and whether there were demographic differences) were sought to develop a public awareness campaign. Method. A telephone survey to 400 randomly selected residents was conducted as part of a formative research project for an upstate New York Department of Social Services. Using a four-point Likert-type scale (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree) participants responded to a series of statements about SBS based on publicly available information (for example, whether parents or non-parents can judge how much shaking is safe, if shaking is a form of discipline, if men are more likely to shake than women). Results. Nearly all respondents had heard of SBS and agreed that shaking may cause harm (80% strongly agreed). Differences were found in perceptions of parents' ability to judge (62% disagreed), shaking as a form of discipline (34% agreed) and whether fussy babies were likelier to be shaken (13% disagreed). There was also disagreement about men being likelier than women to shake an infant (48% disagreed; 20% did not know). Differences were also found across gender, age and ethnicity and mandated reporter status. Discussion. These respondents, while aware of SBS, were less well-informed about specific aspects associated with the syndrome that may play a contributing role.
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe an approach used to gather community opinion. 2. Describe general public perceptions of child abuse and how they differ from what is generally understood about SBS. 3. Discuss sub-group differences based on age, gender and race. 4. Outline potential approaches for a public awareness campaign
Keywords: Infant Health, Caregivers
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.