Impact of a Parent Education Program Delivered by Nurses and Health Care Providers in Reducing Infant Physical Abuse Hospitalization Rates in British Columbia, Canada.
Karen Sadler, Fahra Rajabali, Alex Zheng and 2 others
PMID 38115698WHAT IT FOUND
After universal nurse-delivered parent education in British Columbia, infant physical abuse hospitalization rates fell from 4.6 to 3.0 per 100,000 person-years.
The 30% drop was not strong enough to rule out chance.
Key findings
01Infant physical abuse hospitalization rates averaged 4.6 per 100,000 person-years before implementation and 3.0 per 100,000 person-years after implementation.
02The estimated reduction after implementation was 30%, but it was not statistically significant (95% CI: −14%, 57%, p = 0.1561).
03Linear trends were 0.48 per 100,000 person-years per year before implementation and −0.73 per 100,000 person-years per year after implementation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Physical abuse hospitalizations may have been undercounted because cases are not always reported to police or child protection services, and coding depends on physician documentation. The number of definite physical abuse hospitalization cases was small, so it was difficult to achieve a statistically significant result. The study compared periods before and after the program without a control group, so other prevention programs running at the same time may have influenced rates. ICD-9 data from 1999 to 2000 were estimated because the coding system changed in 2001 and did not allow direct translation.
Declared interests
The paper states that the PURPLE program is funded by the BC Ministry of Health. No separate conflict-of-interest declaration is provided.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the PURPLE program caused a 30% reduction in infant physical abuse hospitalizations. The 30% reduction was not statistically significant, and the study had no control group, so other programs or reporting changes may explain the trend.