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Parents of Infants & Children with Kernicterus Support New CDC Campaign CDC and Consumer Partners to Prevent Brain Damage to Newborns from Jaundice CHICAGO, February 6, 2007 - Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus (PICK) today asked for the assistance of all prenatal educators, pediatricians, nurses and hospitals in implementing a new campaign to engage parents as partners in preventing brain damage caused by neonatal jaundice. The new campaign, entitled Did you know that jaundice can sometimes lead to brain damage in newborns?, was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in partnership with PICK and a coalition of leading organizations concerned with neonatal safety. "Kernicterus re-emerged in the U.S. healthcare system in the early 1990s," said Karen T. Dixon, PhD, President of PICK. "That is unacceptably long ago. We need to get serious as a healthcare community about eradicating this devastating preventable injury now." Dixon, an assistant professor of neurobiology, is the mother of Jess Dixon, a 17 year old injured by kernicterus shortly after his birth. Beginning in 2000, PICK initiated an energetic advocacy effort to put kernicterus "back in the history books." Although questions were raised about whether these preventable adverse outcomes were rare, the Joint Commission and CDC were shocked to hear of any cases at all and quickly responded. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated their clinical practice guidelines in 2004 stressing the importance of universal assessment while the newborn is in the hospital, close monitoring and follow-up upon discharge, and prompt intervention upon diagnosis. The CDC coalition, known as the Kernicterus Prevention Partnership Campaign (KPPC) was formed in 2004 at the urging of PICK. Other members include Partnership for Patient Safety (p4ps), March of Dimes, The Joint Commission, AAP, the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition, National Association of Neonatal Nurses and HCA Corporation, among others. PICK co-founder, Sue Sheridan, said, "A wake-up call for PICK was the realization that despite significant initiatives from CDC, the Joint Commission and AAP, change in practice is slow and babies continue to be put at risk in the United States. Our strategy is to educate parents and families about the things they can do to strengthen the safety net." The campaign consists of posters, brochures, tent cards, fact sheets and an educational video. Print pieces are customizable to depict babies of differing skin color and are offered in Spanish as well as English. Key opportunities for patient and family engagement are identified, including:
For more information on the campaign, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/kernichome.htm. Visitors to the website can also join the KPPC. Support for families who have experienced kernicterus is available through Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus at www.pickonline.org. More information on kernicterus prevention also is available from these sources:
Selected media articles on kernicterus include: |
