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Hospital response protocols for child sexual abuse and sexually transmitted diseases in children
1Division of STD Control, Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa, Ontario.
Insights
Many Canadian hospitals lack standardized protocols for child sexual abuse response, with only 46% having a protocol. This impacts the healthcare system's ability to protect vulnerable children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Child Protection
Background:
- Hospitals are key entry points for sexually abused children into the healthcare system.
- Hospital staff can play a crucial role in investigating, intervening, and preventing child abuse.
- Standardized protocols are essential for effectively addressing the needs of sexually abused children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence and standardization of response protocols for child sexual abuse in Canadian hospitals.
- To identify factors associated with the presence of such protocols.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted across Canadian hospitals that treat children.
- Data collected included the presence of response protocols for child sexual abuse and sexually transmitted diseases.
- Hospital characteristics such as accreditation, specialization, teaching status, and bed count were recorded.
Main Results:
- Only 46% of surveyed hospitals had a response protocol for child sexual abuse.
- A significantly lower percentage (17%) had protocols for sexually transmitted diseases in children.
- Protocols were more common in accredited, pediatric-specialized, teaching hospitals with over 200 beds.
Conclusions:
- There is a significant gap in standardized protocols for child sexual abuse response in Canadian hospitals.
- Hospital characteristics influence protocol implementation, with larger, specialized, and teaching facilities more likely to have them.
- Lack of perceived need or desirability among staff contributes to the absence of protocols in some institutions.
Abstract:
Hospitals are significant portals of entry to the health care system for children who have been sexually abused. Hospital staff have the opportunity to investigate, intervene in and prevent the cycle of abuse. Accordingly, several Canadian hospitals have standardized responses to meet the needs of the sexually abused child; however, the prevalence of protocols and the degree of standardization across the country have not been documented. A survey of hospitals in Canada indicated that 46% of hospitals that treated children had a response protocol for child sexual abuse and only 17% had a response protocol for sexually transmitted diseases in children. Protocols were more likely to be in place in hospitals that were accredited, specialized in paediatrics, were designated as teaching facilities for medicine, nursing and social work, and had more than 200 beds. In hospitals without protocols, staff were often not convinced of their need or desirability.
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