Effectiveness of using an educational video simulating the anatomical mechanism of shaking and smothering in a home-visit program to prevent self-reported infant abuse: A population-based quasi-experimental study in Japan

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2020-03, Vol.101, p.104359-104359, Article 104359
• Main Authors: Fujiwara, Takeo, Isumi, Aya, Sampei, Makiko, Yamada, Fujiko, Miyazaki, Yusuke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abusive head trauma; Adult; Anatomy; Asphyxia - prevention & control; Babies; Caregivers; Caregivers - education; Child abuse; Crying; Domiciliary visits; Female; Health education; Home visit; Home Visits; House Calls; Humans; Infants; Japan; Male; Middle Aged; Midwives; Population-based studies; Postpartum period; Pregnancy; Prevention programs; Public health; Public health policy; Quasi-experimental methods; Questionnaires; Response rates; Self Report; Shaken baby syndrome; Shaken Baby Syndrome - prevention & control; Suffocation; Video Technology; Volunteers; Young Children
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104359

A video that simulates the anatomical mechanism of shaking the infant head, which may have a stronger impact on the viewer, and a tool to prevent self-reported smothering in response to crying, has never been investigated. To investigate whether watching an educational video at home visit at 2 months postpartum on infant crying and the dangers of shaking and smothering reduces self-reported shaking and smothering behaviors at 4 months postpartum. In a quasi-experimental study in A city in Japan, the video intervention was implemented at home visits by a midwife, public health nurse or trained volunteers when babies were 2 months old. At the 4-month health checkup, participants received a questionnaire about the video, self-reported shaking and smothering behaviors and other covariates. The impacts of watching the video and self-reported shaking or smothering were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. In total, 5961 caregivers provided valid response for this study (valid response rate: 73.8 %). In the adjusted model, those who watched the video were 74 % less likely to shake their infants (odds ratio (OR): 0.36, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.21–0.64), 43 % were less likely to smother their infants (OR: 0.57, 95 % CI: 0.37–0.89), 52 % were less likely to shake or smother (OR: 0.48, 95 % CI: 0.33–0.69) their infants. The educational video on infant crying and the dangers of shaking and smothering, with anatomical mechanism of shaking, may halve the risk of self-reported shaking and smothering at 4 months of age.