CONCLUSION
Child abuse and neglect remains a serious problem across the country. Pediatric abusive head trauma is one of the most serious types of such abuse and the leading cause of death from injury in infants.
It is important for all healthcare professionals to be aware of the risk factors and signs and symptoms of AHT in the patients they care for, since a diagnosis depends on input from a multidisciplinary team. Any person suspecting this form of child abuse is required to report it immediately to the appropriate authorities.
Prevention education by healthcare professionals serves the important goal of reducing all child abuse and neglect, including abusive head trauma. Patients can be further directed to various resources to help prevent the behaviors that lead to AHT.
RESOURCES
Child Welfare Information Gateway
FRIENDS(Family Resource Information, Education, and Network Development Service)
Implicit Bias 101: Exploring Implicit Bias in Child Protection (Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity)
National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome
REFERENCES
NOTE: Complete URLs for references retrieved from online sources are provided in the PDF of this course.
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