2.
Implementation of the Period of PURPLE Crying program in Australia
Abstract
A study examined the appropriateness and likelihood of usage of the north American Period of PURPLE Crying® intervention program in far north Queensland, to educate families about the risk of infant abusive head trauma (AHT)/shaken baby syndrome. A mixed-method cross-sectional study with a questionnaire and semi-structured interview was conducted with 33 health professionals in far north Queensland (FNQ) to gauge their opinions of the Period of PURPLE Crying program's educational materials. Seventy per cent of participants were aware of infant AHT; 87.8% agreed the program would be appropriate for far north Queensland populations; 90% agreed that new parents/carers could learn new strategies to deal with inconsolable crying, and that men would be particularly advantaged. In their present form, the educational materials of the Period of PURPLE Crying are appropriate for use. As such, the researchers intend to undertake a pilot implementation in FNQ.
3.
Abstract
Background: Abusive head trauma of infants is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The incidence in Australia has been estimated at 29.6 cases of abusive head trauma for which hospital admission is required per 100 000 infants aged 0-24 months and under per year; more frequent than low speed runovers, drowning and childhood neoplasms. Objective: This article provides a review of the significant incidence and outcomes of abusive head trauma and seeks to raise awareness of the potential of evidence based interventions to reduce infant injury and its consequences in the community. Discussion: An evidence based program, the Period of PURPLE Crying®, has been shown to reduce infant injury. An evaluation of the suitability of program materials for different cultural groups in Australia needs to be assessed. Such a scoping project is proposed as a necessary prerequisite to a pilot clinical intervention.
3.
Abstract
This piece of writing is to provide background and description of our thinking behind The Cooktown‐Ten (C‐10). The C‐10 is a model for use in primary care to encourage the prevention of violence. Understood as a pathogenesis, it can be used by health professionals in primary care settings. The violence that has the potential to be prevented in primary care settings is violence that occurs on a personal scale. This includes a range of significant harms to individuals and groups including self‐harm, workplace, domestic, intimate partner, family and community violence, and suicide. The subject of significant attention in Australia, the elimination of violence against women and their children, such as gender‐based sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence, is a national priority. In our opinion a significant gap in the suite of prevention efforts is the capacity to work with all people at risk of using violence prior to any event. Yet most practitioners work with those affected after the act. The pathogenesis of violence presented in this paper is based on many years of clinical practice and brings together literature from divergent fields. The C‐10 is a problem structuring tool for counselling opportunities to understand, explain and ameliorate all types of violence including physical, psychological, social, and self‐directed harms, and to identify and make an effective plan to support people to make positive choices for non‐violent action. It has been developed and used in time and resource poor settings with and for General Practitioners (GPs), nurses, allied and other health sector workers. Any such model should be useful to practitioners and be just complex and robust enough to enable an exploration of the variety of nuances within a persons’ situation. Our model can be used to explain repetitive cycles and effects of interpersonal violence and self‐directed harm. The C‐10 can be used with individuals, groups, families and communities. It is intended as a free resource for clinical use. Currently clinical applications are based on Level 5 evidence. It is hoped that ongoing research will build on this evidence base. At a minimum, this model provides a conversation template and a take‐home framework to allow individuals to reflect, anticipate and modify their responses to problems—to make deliberate choices to avoid violence in their actions.