Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a serious form of child maltreatment that needs to be prevented. The aim of this study was to summarize the main AHT prevention strategies described in literature, aiming to identify evidence of their efficiency, as well as strengths and limitations. International databases were reviewed from 2005 to 2015 using the key words Shaken Baby Syndrome or abusive head trauma or nonaccidental head trauma or abusive head injury or nonaccidental head injury and prevention. A total of 1,215 articles were found and 34 complete articles were selected for this study. Five initiatives with the main objective of reducing infant crying in the first months of life were found, three aimed at caregiver's emotional regulation and 12 aimed at raising parents and caregivers awareness on AHT. Among them, parental education about infant crying and risks of shaking a baby stands out for its empirical evidence.

Considering the severity of abusive head trauma in children, it is critical that prevention strategies be implemented and evaluated in the Brazilian context. It is suggested that its incidence indicators be assessed at the national level.

Caring for young infants can be stressful. Non-accidental brain or head injury (shaken baby syndrome) is a result of parental stress, and a lack of knowledge of how to respond to a crying infant and the dangers of shaking a child. This article demonstrates the value of international collaboration in projects to prevent child maltreatment. It includes reports of prevention of shaken baby syndrome programmes in Australia, Hungary, Greece, Brazil and Turkey.

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Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a form of physical abuse, which may result in serious consequences for child development. Despite its severity, SBS can be prevented through parent training. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief intervention to increase knowledge on SBS with 252 parents. Participants were randomly assigned into two conditions: Experimental Group (EG) and a waiting Control Group (CG). The intervention consisted of exhibition of an educational video and reading a pamphlet on SBS. To measure parental knowledge, the Attitudes towards the Infant Crying Scale was used. An increase in participants’ knowledge about consequences of shaking, caregiver’s wellbeing, caregiver strategies to deal with crying, beliefs about infant care and about characteristics of infant crying were observed in the EG at posttest, indicating the effectiveness of the intervention.