The program was associated with a 35% reduction in the number of children under two admitted to BC hospitals with shaking-related injuries.

BCIRPU’s publication on the effectiveness of the Period of PURPLE Crying program in BC has received the 2018 Article of the Year Award from the journal Child Abuse and Neglect.

This study investigates the rates of shaken baby syndrome (SBS) in BC and shows that the program was associated with a 35% reduction in the number of children under two admitted to BC hospitals with shaking-related injuries.

“On behalf of my co-authors, we were thrilled to be notified that our article describing a program to prevent abusive head trauma/shaken baby syndrome implemented in British Columbia was chosen as the 2018 Article of the Year,” said Dr. Ronald Barr, lead author of the study.

“While everyone agrees that prevention is better than therapy, anyone who has attempted a serious prevention program understands how challenging prevention really is, perhaps especially in the world of child maltreatment and abuse.”

The study was covered by news outlets when it was first published in August 2018, including CBC, Black Press, and OMNI.

Implemented in 2009, the Period of PURPLE Crying consists of in-person teaching from a maternity nurse or midwife, as well as a follow-up from a public health nurse as part of post-birth care. Parents learn that babies go through a normal developmental phase where they may cry for long periods of time and not respond to soothing. Parents also receive coping strategies for this challenging time.

Well done to all of the finalists for the award.

News release from BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
Read the publication