TY - JOUR
T1 - The Typology and Topography of Child Abuse and Neglect
T2 - The Experience of a Tertiary Children's Centre
AU - Debelle, Geoff
AU - Efstathiou, Nikolaos
AU - Khan, Rafiyah
AU - Williamson, Annette
AU - Summan, Manjit
AU - Taylor, Julie
PY - 2022/7/5
Y1 - 2022/7/5
N2 - Effective child protection systems and processes require reliable and accurate data. The aim of this study was to determine what data could be extracted from hospital records in a single site that reflected a child's journey from admission with suspected abuse to the decisions regarding substantiation made by the multidisciplinary child protection team. A retrospective study of the case records of 452 children referred to a major UK children's tertiary centre for suspected child maltreatment was undertaken. Child maltreatment was substantiated in 65% of referred cases, with the majority of referrals coming from children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. Domestic violence and abuse and the child's previous involvement with statutory bodies were associated with case substantiation. Physical abuse predominated, with soft tissue injuries, including dog bites and burns, most frequent. Burns were related almost exclusively to supervisory neglect. There were also cases of medical neglect. Emotional abuse was associated with exposure to domestic violence and abuse and to self-harm. The strengths and limitations for single-centre data systems were explored, concluding with a recommendation to establish an agreed national and international minimum data set to protect children from maltreatment.
AB - Effective child protection systems and processes require reliable and accurate data. The aim of this study was to determine what data could be extracted from hospital records in a single site that reflected a child's journey from admission with suspected abuse to the decisions regarding substantiation made by the multidisciplinary child protection team. A retrospective study of the case records of 452 children referred to a major UK children's tertiary centre for suspected child maltreatment was undertaken. Child maltreatment was substantiated in 65% of referred cases, with the majority of referrals coming from children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. Domestic violence and abuse and the child's previous involvement with statutory bodies were associated with case substantiation. Physical abuse predominated, with soft tissue injuries, including dog bites and burns, most frequent. Burns were related almost exclusively to supervisory neglect. There were also cases of medical neglect. Emotional abuse was associated with exposure to domestic violence and abuse and to self-harm. The strengths and limitations for single-centre data systems were explored, concluding with a recommendation to establish an agreed national and international minimum data set to protect children from maltreatment.
KW - Animals
KW - Child
KW - Child Abuse/psychology
KW - Dogs
KW - Domestic Violence/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Referral and Consultation
KW - Retrospective Studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133319270&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19138213
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19138213
M3 - Article
C2 - 35805871
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 13
M1 - 8213
ER -