Severity of child neglect among acutely poisoned children in Egypt
Nourhan Saeed1, Eman Sultan2, Maha Ghanem1
1Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt.
Insights
Child neglect, particularly lack of supervision, is linked to poisoning in children. Severe neglect was found in over a quarter of cases, especially among those with uneducated caregivers or from rural areas.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Toxicology
Background:
- Child abuse and neglect present significant public health challenges, impacting development and health outcomes.
- Neglect is the most common form of child abuse, posing challenges for pediatricians.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify neglect types in poisoned children.
- Analyze risk factors for child neglect.
- Develop a novel severity scoring system for child neglect in Alexandria, Egypt.
Main Methods:
- Observational checklist and simple random sampling used for data collection.
- Data collected from children (2 months–17 years) admitted for poisoning.
- Statistical analysis included SPSS, chi-squared test, Monte Carlo simulation, and Fisher's exact test.
Main Results:
- 147 children were enrolled; pesticides were the most common poisoning agent.
- Lack of supervision was observed in 83% of cases; 27.9% experienced severe neglect.
- Severe neglect associated with lower caregiver education and rural residence.
Conclusions:
- Educational disparities among caregivers require attention.
- Improved supervision is crucial, especially for children in rural areas.
- Findings underscore the link between neglect and poisoning incidents.
Background:
Child abuse and neglect pose significant public health challenges, contributing to compromised development and adverse health outcomes. Neglect is the most frequent type of child abuse, presenting substantial challenges for paediatricians.
Aims:
To identify types of neglect associated with poisoned children, analyse potential risk factors and develop a novel severity scoring system to assess child neglect in Alexandria, Egypt.
Methods:
Using a simple random sampling technique, with an observational checklist we collected data on children aged 2 months to 17 years admitted for poisoning at the poison centre of Alexandria Main University Hospital from October to December 2022. We analysed the data using SPSS version 20.0 and tested the associations between neglect score and child data, current condition and carer data using the χ2 test, the Monte Carlo simulation and Fisher's exact P.
Results:
The study enrolled 147 children, male-to-female ratio 1:1.17. Pesticides were the most common cause of poisoning. Lack of supervision was noted in 83% of cases and the neglect severity score showed that 27.9% of the children experienced severe neglect. There was significant association between severity of neglect and caregiver's education level and between severity of neglect and child's residence; severe neglect cases were significantly higher among children whose caregivers had no formal education (70.7%) and among those from rural areas (61%).
Conclusion:
These findings highlight the critical need to address educational disparities among caregivers and improve supervision for children, especially in rural areas.
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