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New program for identification of child maltreatment in emergency department: preliminary data
Gregorio P Milani1,2, Federica A Vianello3, Barbara Cantoni4
1Pediatric Emergency Department, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. milani.gregoriop@gmail.com.
Insights
Early detection of child maltreatment is crucial. An educational program and interdisciplinary team in Italian emergency departments increased diagnoses by 16.9%, showing promising results for child protection.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Forensic Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Child maltreatment detection in pediatric emergency departments presents significant challenges for healthcare systems.
- Previous interventions have yielded inadequate or unquantifiable results in addressing this issue.
- This study introduces a novel educational program and an interdisciplinary team approach to enhance identification and management of maltreated children.
Discussion:
- The implemented educational program utilized lecture-based and case-based learning to train healthcare professionals on identifying and managing child maltreatment.
- An interdisciplinary team comprising forensic physicians, dermatologists, orthopedics, radiologists, gynecologists, oculists, psychologists, and psychiatrists was established to manage suspected cases.
- Analysis focused on the characteristics of diagnosed subjects post-intervention, comparing their numbers to the preceding two years.
Key Insights:
- The integrated approach resulted in a statistically significant increase in child maltreatment diagnoses.
- A 16.9% rise in diagnoses was observed following the implementation of the educational program and interdisciplinary team.
- These preliminary findings indicate the effectiveness of structured interventions in improving the identification of child abuse and neglect.
Outlook:
- Further research and sustained efforts are necessary to optimize child maltreatment identification protocols within emergency departments.
- Expanding such interdisciplinary models across broader healthcare settings could improve child protection outcomes.
- Continued evaluation and refinement of educational strategies are essential for long-term success in combating child maltreatment.
Abstract:
Early detection of child maltreatment in pediatric emergency department is one of the most important challenges for the Italian and European medical care system. Several interventions have been proposed, but results are often unquantifiable or inadequate to face this problem. We promoted an educational program and built up an interdisciplinary team to improve the identification and management of maltreated children. Aim of this study is to report preliminary results of these interventions. Meetings structured with lecture-based teaching and case-based lessons were focused on identification and management of maltreatment cases. An interdisciplinary team with forensic physicians, dermatologists, orthopedics, radiologists, gynecologists, oculists, psychologists and psychiatrics, was created to manage children with suspected diagnosis of maltreatment. We analysed the characteristics of subjects diagnosed after these interventions and their number was compared with the one in the two previous years. An increased rate of diagnoses of 16.9 % was found. Results of the reported program are encouraging, but many efforts are still mandatory to improve the child maltreatment identification in emergency departments.
