Where the action is …: … in this edition, the Queensland Police Service: Preventing shaking injuries in infants: A brief communication

Fifty-two (52) cases of infant abusive head trauma (IAHT), investigated by the Queensland Police Service over a ten-year period, were examined for information on victim and offender demographics. The study revealed a mean age of 2.6 months for victims of assaults categorised as involving a shaking-type mechanism, indicating that the youngest infants are particularly susceptible to that form of injury. It was further demonstrated that abusive injuries are most likely to be caused by a primary caregiver, such as a biological or step-parent. It is thus hypothesised that to assist in prevention, some form of written caution on the dangers of infant shaking should be provided to all parents immediately prior to their child's departure from the maternity ward.