[Nursing contribution to the detection of risk factors for child abuse and neglect]

Prevention of child abuse implies early recognition of risks and families' need for support in order to prevent possible threats to children's health and well-being by introducing supportive measures. Paediatric hospitals play an important role in the early diagnosis of risks and initiation of supportive interventions. Nursing professionals can contribute significantly to this if they are sensitised to the detection of risk factors and integrate their assessment systematically into the nursing process. Aspects from the parents' biography, marked feelings of stress, and inadequate competencies or lack of competencies to perceive and fulfil the child's needs are seen as particularly critical risk factors and as dependable indicators for threats to children's health and well-being. In research, the use of standardised instruments for risk assessment is controversially discussed. The danger of stigma and limited psychometric characteristics argue against the use of existing instruments, society's obligation to protect children argues in their favour. In Germany, from a nursing perspective, instruments which have been designed and scientifically tested for this purpose are not yet available. From a nursing perspective, the assessment of the parents' competencies and of their feeling strained in a given situation constitutes a linchpin from which health interventions regarding health-promotion and prevention can begin. Concerning this, the Theory of Dependent-Care could provide an appropriate foundation.