PROFESSIONAL Infant abusive head trauma Incidence, outcomes and awareness which provides information to family and carers and web based training and support for providers. Evaluating the cultural appropriateness of this intervention for the rural and remote Australian context is overdue and necessary before its clinical use. The problem Abusive head trauma is a common cause of mortality and morbidity in infants. 2 The incidence of AHT in Australia is comparable to overseas studies. A recent study into the incidence of AHT in Queensland found 29.6 cases of AHT for which hospital admission was required per 100 000 infants aged 0–24 months and under per year. 1 A population based study in the United Kingdom found that the incidence of subdural haemorrhage due to child abuse was 10.1 cases annually per 100 000 children under the age of 2 years, 5 and 25–30 cases per 100 000 presentations per year in Edinburgh, Scotland. 2 In the United States, between 1200–1400 children may be injured or killed by shaking every year. 6 More recent incidence studies in the USA have suggested rates of AHT occurrence are approximately 10 times higher than that of the most common childhood leukaemia. 1 The consequences of AHT are significant. In 80% of cases severe morbidity is present, which includes intellectual impairment, behavioural disorders and impaired motor and cognitive skills. 7 Enduring cognitive limitations due to AHT include problems with IQ, mental organisation, memory, alternation, inhibition and verbal processing. 8 The level of long term impairment seen in children who have experienced AHT in infancy has been demonstrated to be significantly higher than that found in children who have experienced an accidental head injury during infancy. 1 The high morbidity and incidence of AHT has financial implications for the healthcare system. Lifetime costs for brain injury have been estimated to be The term ‘abusive head trauma’ (AHT) encompasses both shaking and impact related brain and head injuries in infants and children aged up to 2 years. 1 Prevention and intervention research for AHT has not been prioritised in Australia, despite the high cost and lifelong morbidity for survivors and the growing international evidence of the low cost of effective prevention and intervention. 2 Addressing the AHT injury toll is a core clinical responsibility for primary care providers, who are in the best position within the current Australian health system to provide population-wide pre-injury interventions. This article describes the incidence and aetiology of AHT and hopes to raise awareness of the problem. The most evidence based intervention for AHT prevention is the Period of PURPLE Crying ® program, 2–4 Background Abusive head trauma of infants is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The incidence in Australia has been estimated at 29.6 cases of abusive head trauma for which hospital admission is required per 100 000 infants aged 0–24 months and under per year; more frequent than low speed runovers, drowning and childhood neoplasms. Objective This article provides a review of the significant incidence and outcomes of abusive head trauma and seeks to raise awareness of the potential of evidence based interventions to reduce infant injury and its consequences in the community. Discussion An evidence based program, the Period of PURPLE Crying ® , has been shown to reduce infant injury. An evaluation of the suitability of program materials for different cultural groups in Australia needs to be assessed. Such a scoping project is proposed as a necessary prerequisite to a pilot clinical intervention. Keywords child abuse; craniocerebral trauma; infant William Liley Anne Stephens Melissa Kaltner Sarah Larkins Richard C Franklin Komla Tsey Rebecca Stewart Simon Stewart Reprinted from AUSTRALIAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN VOL. 41, NO. 10, OCTOBER 2012 823