Measuring the Incidence of Inflicted Childhood Neurotrauma (Shaken Baby Syndrome)

Addressing the topic: Measuring the Incidence of Inflicted Childhood Neurotrauma (Shaken Baby Syndrome) was the purpose of a two-day meeting held in at the Harborview Injury Prevention Center in Seattle, Washington in October of 2006. The concept for the meeting was designed by Ronald G. Barr, MDCM, FRCPC and the scientific planning committee including Desmond Runyan, MD, PhD, Robert Reece, MD, Fred Rivara, MD, John Leventhal, MD and Ronald G. Barr, MDCM, FRCPC.

The meeting was organized and sponsored by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS). Findings from this meeting were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. A discussion of the findings can be found on the Science Daily website by clicking here.

The NCSBS received a grant from, and acknowledges the generosity of, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation who funded this symposium. The aim was to bring together respected expert professionals to address the challenges of instantiating valid and reliable Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma surveillance systems in the United States and other countries.



The planning committee would like to sincerely thank Dr. Fred Rivara for hosting the meeting at the Harborview Injury Prevention Center in Seattle, Washington. Special thanks to Dr. James Mercy and Dr. Rodney Hammond from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention for supporting the meeting and sponsoring this supplement. The Planning Committee would especially like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Ronald Barr, UBC for his leadership and project oversight and for the opening chapter (with Dr. Desmond Runyan) that leads off this supplement.

The sponsors would also like to thank the 23 participants who were world experts in their fields and included epidemiologists, pediatricians, public health specialists, child abuse and injury prevention specialists, pathologists, radiologists and neurosurgeons with scientific and/or clinical expertise. Additionally,



representatives from relevant branches of the Centers for Disease Control and relevant advocacy and research staff from the Department of Defense also contributed to the definition and measurement of the incidence of inflicted childhood neurotrauma (SBS). Their shared wisdom, experience, dialogues, ideas, and written articles and reports made it an outstanding, valuable and meaningful event.

Marilyn Barr
Founder and Executive Director
National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome