Implementation Trial of a Validated Clinical Decision Rule for Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma (NIH Grant Number P50HD089922)

Investigators' long-term goal is to increase the accuracy of doctors' decisions to launch or forgo child abuse evaluations in their young, acutely head-injured patients. To this end, PediBIRN investigators have derived and validated a 4-variable clinical decision rule (CDR) that detects abusive head trauma (AHT) with 96% sensitivity in PICU settings. Applied at PICU admission, the CDR categorizes young, acutely head-injured patients as higher risk vs. lower risk, and recommends thorough abuse evaluations for all higher risk patients.

The "CDR Implementation Trial" across eight PICUs will assess the CDR's actual impact on AHT screening accuracy. The stratified cluster randomized trial design will facilitate direct comparison of child abuse evaluations at four, randomly selected, control sites to four matched intervention sites, where investigators will deploy active, multifaceted, implementation strategies designed to promote CDR acceptability and application. These strategies will include physician training with onsite visits, monthly "booster training emails," access to an "AHT probability calculator," audit and site-specific feedback, and local "information sharing sessions" designed to address local barriers to CDR acceptance and application.

PediBIRN investigators will conduct the CDR Implementation Trial with three Specific Aims. Aim 1 is to assess the CDR's actual impact on AHT screening accuracy. Investigators hypothesize that deployment of CDR implementation strategies at the four intervention sites will be associated with higher percentages of higher risk patients evaluated thoroughly for abuse, and lower percentages of lower risk patients evaluated (even partially) for abuse. Aim 2 is to identify factors that impact CDR application in PICU settings. Investigators hypothesize that PICUs with higher patient volumes, providers with child abuse expertise, and providers with more intense exposure to CDR implementation strategies will be predictive of higher percentages of higher risk patients thoroughly evaluated for abuse, whereas patients of minority race or ethnicity will be predictive of higher percentages of lower risk patients evaluated for abuse. Investigators' third Exploratory Aim is to measure the sustained impacts of CDR implementation strategies. Investigators hypothesize that CDR utilization at intervention sites will be sustained twelve months after CDR implementation strategies have been discontinued.

Based on strong Preliminary Studies, investigators predict that CDR adoption as an AHT screening tool will increase AHT detection; reduce overall abuse evaluations and their associated risks; reduce unwarranted variation in current AHT screening practices; minimize the adverse impacts of doctors' inherent biases, uncertainty, and practice disparities; reduce AHT-associated acute health care costs in PICU settings; and save the lives of children who will be reinjured and killed if their AHT is missed or unrecognized.