Increased risk for child maltreatment in those with developmental disability: A primary health care perspective from Israel

Child maltreatment in children with medical complexity and disability

Child maltreatment is common and pediatric healthcare providers are becoming increasingly aware of risk factors and signs of abuse.1-4 Children with disabilities and those with special medical needs are recognized as a population at increased risk of child maltreatment. Understanding this risk and recognizing that not all disabilities confer the same risks can provide deeper insight for pediatric providers regarding the supports these children and their families need to prevent maltreatment.

Percepção do profissional da Estratégia Saúde da Família no cuidado à criança com deficiência

Objetivo: compreender a percepção dos profissionais da Estratégia Saúde da Família sobre o cuidado às crianças com deficiências. Materiais e método: estudo exploratório descritivo com abordagem qualitativa. A coleta de dados ocorreu no primeiro semestre de 2019. Realizaram-se entrevistas não estruturadas, com questões orientadoras referentes à percepção dos profissionais quanto ao cuidado realizado às crianças com deficiências com 33 profissionais de seis equipes de saúde, de um município da região Sul do Brasil. Utilizou-se a análise categorial temática com o auxílio do software WebQDA®. Resultados: as categorias temáticas finais identificadas neste estudo são sobre o cuidado às crianças com deficiências na Estratégia Saúde da Família, as quais foram divididas em potencialidades e fragilidades. Com relação às potencialidades, identificaram-se a rede de atenção, dando suporte aos encaminhamentos necessários, os atendimentos realizados com priorização e equidade e a consideração da importância das famílias nos cuidados; nas fragilidades, ressaltaram-se as limitações dos serviços, que dificultam ou até impossibilitam os atendimentos, como falta de profissionais, insumos e ambiência adequada, falta de protocolos direcionando os atendimentos, falta de capacitação e desconhecimento dos direitos desse público, o que prejudica o cuidado prestado a essas crianças. Conclusões: compreender a percepção dos profissionais que estão na assistência dessas crianças possibilita identificar as lacunas dos serviços e proporciona a valorização do pessoal de saúde; em consequência disso, favorece o direcionamento adequado de recursos, beneficiando o cuidado para as famílias de crianças com deficiência.

Characteristics of child welfare investigations reported by healthcare professionals in Ontario: secondary analysis of a regional database

OBJECTIVES

This study examines the characteristics and outcomes of child welfare investigations reported by hospital-based and community-based healthcare professionals.

METHODS

A sample of 7590 child maltreatment-related investigations from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018, a cross-sectional study, was analysed. Bivariate analyses compared characteristics of hospital and community healthcare-reported investigations. Chi-square automatic interaction detector analyses were used to predict the most influential factors in the decision to provide a family with services following a child welfare investigation from each referral source.

RESULTS

Community healthcare-reported investigations were more likely to have a primary concern of physical abuse while hospital-reported investigations were more likely to be focused on assessing risk of future maltreatment. Hospital-reported investigations were more likely to involve noted primary caregiver (eg, mental health issues, alcohol/drug abuse, victim of intimate partner violence (IPV)) and household risk factors. The most significant predictor of service provision following an investigation was having a caregiver who was identified as a victim of IPV in hospital-reported investigations (χ²=30.237, df=1, adj. p<0.001) and having a caregiver for whom few social supports was noted in community healthcare-reported investigations (χ²=18.892, df=1, adj. p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Healthcare professionals likely interact with children who are at high risk for maltreatment. This study's findings highlight the important role that healthcare professionals play in child maltreatment identification, which may differ across hospital-based and community-based settings and has implications for future collaborations between the healthcare and child welfare systems.