Inflicted Traumatic Brian Injury (iTBI) study: Evidence of a Hidden Epidemic

Data from India and other low and middle-income countries reveal high parental shaking rates in poor communities. Other Indian data indicate high rates of intellectual disability among children. The confluence of these observations provided an opportunity to study, utilizing innovative pilot studies, the nature and consequences of potentially harmful child discipline practices, and their association with developmental delay in young children. The presentation will provide an overview of the India iTBI study and share the results and the lessons learned from the study.

Learning objectives:

Upon completion of the talk, participants will be able to:
– Recognize innovative designs and methods used to collect data on shaking.
– Understand the prevalence, frequency, and timing of first shaking among children in the community
– Understand the type of perpetrators, reason for shaking, and to recognize the association between shaking and developmental delay in children.

Presented by: Dr. Shankar Viswanathan, DrPH, MSc

Dr. Shankar Viswanathan is an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. He received his biostatistics and public health training from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Viswanathan specializes in the methodological issues in injury research and has over 20 years of experience in injury and violence prevention, specifically working in child maltreatment, violence against women, sports injury, suicide, occupational injury, and campus safety. He has collaborated on World Studies of Abuse in the Family Environment (WorldSAFE). Currently, He focuses his research on inflicted traumatic brain injuries in children in low and middle-income countries.

Location: In-person at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (room details TBD)* and virtually via Zoom

*A light lunch will be provided to those attending in-person

For more information, visit our Research Hub page: https://hub.bcchr.ca/x/-wCSC

This event is co-hosted by the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, and the Evidence to Innovation Theme at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute