Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma
Course #92404 - $15 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
It is estimated that 95% of severe intracranial injuries and 64% of all head injuries in children 1 year of age or younger are caused by violence inflicted by parents or caretakers. Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a spectrum, ranging from mild injury from sub-lethal abuse that can cause lethargy, irritability, poor feeding, and/or vomiting occurring for days or weeks, to the most severe injury leading to coma and/or death. The great tragedy is that AHT, and especially shaken baby syndrome, is thought to be somewhat preventable through in-hospital and aftercare parent education programs. This course will outline the identification and treatment of various forms of pediatric AHT. In addition, recommendations for identifying and reporting abuse are given.
This course is designed for all healthcare professionals who may intervene to prevent or identify pediatric abusive head injuries.
The purpose of this course is to raise awareness and provide healthcare providers with the knowledge and skills necessary to quickly and accurately identify pediatric abusive head trauma and to intervene in cases of abuse, which should decrease the morbidity and mortality experienced by the victims.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline the history and epidemiology of pediatric abusive head trauma.
- Describe mechanisms and clinical presentations of pediatric head injuries resulting from abuse.
- Identify and treat various types of head trauma that may present in pediatric victims of abuse.
- Recognize signs and symptoms necessary to diagnose abuse in infants and children, and discuss the process of reporting abuse.
- Access resources and devise a strategy for education and prevention of pediatric abusive head trauma.
Susan Engman Lazear, RN, MN, received her undergraduate education at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing in Washington, D.C. After completing her BSN, she served as an Army Nurse at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco for four years. She then attended the University of Washington School of Nursing and received a Master’s in Nursing, specializing in Burn, Trauma and Emergency Nursing. After receiving her MN, she started Airlift Northwest, the air ambulance service based in Seattle which serves the entire Northwest region, including Alaska. Mrs. Lazear left the air ambulance service to start her own nursing education and consulting business, Specialists in Medical Education. For the past 20 years she has been teaching emergency nursing courses throughout the country. She lives in the Seattle area. Mrs. Lazear continues to teach and publish. She is both an editor and contributing author of Critical Care Nursing, published by W.B. Saunders Company, in June of 1992. She served as an author and reviewer of the Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum 6th Edition, published by W.B. Saunders Company in 2007. She has been named to the Who’s Who in American Healthcare list annually since 1992.
Contributing faculty, Susan Engman Lazear, RN, MN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John M. Leonard, MD
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW
Margaret Donohue, PhD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.