Suspected child abuse and neglect cases in a single tertiary hospital in Malaysia - a 5-year retrospective study
P Vinitha1, B Rohaizah2, M R Faiza2
1Hospital Serdang, Pediatrics Department, Jalan Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia. ahimsa1411@gmail.com.
Insights
Child abuse and neglect cases in Malaysia show a threefold increase over five years, with physical abuse being most common. Infants are the most vulnerable, facing severe outcomes from maltreatment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Child Welfare
Background:
- Child abuse and neglect cases are rising in Malaysia.
- There's a lack of comprehensive data on child maltreatment in the country.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the patterns and demographics of suspected child abuse and neglect (SCAN) cases.
- To review SCAN cases at a Malaysian tertiary hospital over a five-year period.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective descriptive review of SCAN cases (0-18 years).
- Data collected from January 2014 to December 2018 at Hospital Serdang, Malaysia.
- Utilized records from the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) and computerized databases.
Main Results:
- 391 SCAN cases recorded, with a nearly threefold increase from 2014-2018.
- Physical abuse (55%) was most prevalent, followed by sexual abuse (34%) and neglect (10%).
- Four infant deaths resulted from physical abuse; perpetrators of sexual abuse were known to victims.
Conclusions:
- Child maltreatment poses a significant burden on the healthcare system.
- Infants are the most vulnerable population, susceptible to fatal injuries and disabilities due to abuse and neglect.
Background:
Published reports by the Social Welfare Department of Malaysia suggests that child abuse and neglect cases has been steadily increasing. There is a lack of basic data and qualitative study on child maltreatment in Malaysia.
Objective:
The aim is to describe the pattern and demographic features of all suspected child abuse and neglect (SCAN) cases seen in a single tertiary hospital in Malaysia over a period of five years.
Methods:
A retrospective descriptive review of children suspected of maltreatment, aged 0 to 18 years old who presented to the Hospital Serdang (HS), Selangor, Malaysia from January 2014 to December 2018 was done. A list of registered SCAN cases obtained from One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) HS census. Clinical information of patients was retrieved from the computerised database.
Results:
In all, there were a total of 391 SCAN cases over five years with almost a 3-fold increase in the number of cases from 2014 to 2018. Physical abuse was the most common (55%) seen followed by sexual abuse (34%) and neglect (10%). There were four deaths, all involving infants <1 year old who were physically abused by babysitters. The main perpetrator in sexual abuse were people known to the victim. Ninety-three percent of patients were neglected by their biological parents and more than 2/3rd of neglect cases occurred due to inadequate supervision.
Discussion:
Child maltreatment is an inevitable burden to our health system and infants are the most vulnerable group to sustain significant injuries leading to death and disabilities.
