Background

This educational program was designed to assist investigators, social workers, and health care providers understand the mechanisms of severe injuries sustained by infants and young children.

An understanding of the forces, characteristics, and expected symptoms associated with each injury is key to the evaluation and ultimate determination of abuse likelihood.

This CD teaches investigators and clinicians what information and details are needed to address the questions, “Is this injury suspicious for abuse? What tests and information do I need to address this possibility?”

The Innovation

Child Abuse Pediatricians at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City and at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio have developed a series of brief, realistic audiovisual segments that provide the needed guidance. The entire program is approximately 1 hour long.

Each segment describes a specific injury, e.g. transverse fracture of the femur, and includes animations demonstrating one or more scenarios that reasonably explain the injury.

Each injury section includes radiographs, associated clinical findings, diagnostic test data, and video clips of both accidental and inflicted mechanisms of injury to assist the clinician and investigator in determining the need for further evaluation of abuse.

Applications

• Train clinicians and investigators to recognize common mechanisms and symptoms of serious injuries in infants and children
• Enhance the clinical evaluation of serious injuries in young children
  Improve investigative techniques
• Illustrate complex medical concepts in court testimony to promote juror and judge understanding

Advantages

• Segment contents created by physicians who are experts in the field of childhood injuries and child abuse
• Each audiovisual segment focuses on a single type of injury, so training can be directed “as needed” to that injury
• Each segment includes realistic animation illustrating how different mechanisms of accidental injuries and abuse lead to different findings
  Compact disc viewable on Mac and PC

Status

• Copyright, Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, and South Texas Technology Management
• Order at website shown below on this page

Medical Information

Jim Anderst, MD, MSCI
Section on Child Abuse and Neglect
Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
jdanderst@cmh.edu, 816-855-1729

Licensing Information

Stephen ONeil, PhD MBA
Director of Technology Development
soneil@cmh.edu, 816-701-4501

File Number: 2011-004 

Web site: http://www.childrensmercy.org/mic