Abusive Head Trauma: The Case For Prevention
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
Fellow’s Profile
Fellow’s Profile
Abusive head trauma: the case for prevention
Preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome by helping parents to handle babies safely
2016
I am the Founder and Volunteer Programme Advisor for ICON: Babies cry, you can cope. My day job is Executive Director of Barring and Safeguarding at the Disclosure and Barring Service.
My Fellowship was about exploring the design and delivery of programmes to prevent abusive head trauma (AHT) in babies. This is a topic that, as a health visitor and safeguarding specialist, I have been passionate about since I first saw the dreadful impact of AHT on a baby and a family in 1998. The preventability of AHT, by helping parents and people who care for babies to cope with crying, is striking and the ICON programme has been designed as a simple, efficient and effective means of achieving that aim based on the findings from my Fellowship.
ICON is now live in 36 different areas of the country. The ICON message has been incorporated into all maternity units in the UK as part of the NHS Covid-19 response and into NHS 111 call responses. A significant grant has been awarded to evaluate ICON. BBC's Tiny Happy People incorporate ICON advice for parents and Public Health England is working with us to reach students in high schools. The ICON spread and reach continues to grow – which is good for babies.
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
By Suzanne Smith, 2020
By Suzanne Smith, 2018
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
By Suzanne Smith, 2021
By Suzanne Smith, 2020
By Suzanne Smith, 2018
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.