Evaluating ICON
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating ICON: A mixed methods study to assess the impact of the ICON programme on coping strategies for carers of crying babies, and rates of abusive head trauma in infants aged under one year.
IRAS ID
314190
Contact name
Mark Lyttle
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
The commonest severe injury in infants is brain trauma, caused by being struck or shaken. This is called abusive head trauma (AHT). Although infrequent, it is a devastating injury, with high rates of death or lifelong disability. AHT is most common around the age when babies cry most, a period known to be stressful for carers. Whilst it is not always possible to reduce how much a baby cries, it is possible to help parents cope. Research suggests that AHT may be preventable with clear education and support messages for families about normal crying, especially if given on several occasions. Using this evidence, a programme called ‘ICON’ was developed, and has been growing in use. It comprises four simple messages, given to families by healthcare professionals on five occasions in the baby’s early life. In the Evaluating ICON study we will investigate whether AHT occurs less often in areas offering the ICON programme than areas that do not, and what factors influence its impact.
To answer these questions, we will measure the number of cases of AHT before and after the introduction of the ICON programme using a range of health record systems. We will contact families and healthcare professionals to ask what they know about ICON, and their views on it, including how to make it available and understood by as many families as possible. By doing this we will find out what helps or hinders its rollout to new areas. Using this research, we will make recommendations to policy makers and commissioners on whether ICON is beneficial for families, and if it is, recommend the best way to implement it. By engaging with a wide range of people, including healthcare professionals, policy makers, and the owners of the ICON programme, we will generate reliable and generalisable results.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/EM/0124
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion