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[Evaluation in primary prevention: a must, II, The child psychiatry point of view]
Insights
This study introduces a child psychiatry model to evaluate antenatal prevention programs for child abuse and neglect. The model uses parent and professional questionnaires to assess child well-being and parental attitudes in high-risk families.
Area of Science:
- Child psychiatry
- Public health
- Preventive medicine
Context:
- Evaluating antenatal prevention programs for child abuse and neglect presents statistical and ethical challenges.
- High-risk pregnancies require specialized support and monitoring to prevent adverse child outcomes.
- Existing evaluation methods for such programs are often limited in scope and long-term applicability.
Purpose:
- To propose and illustrate a child psychiatry model for evaluating antenatal prevention programs targeting child abuse and neglect.
- To assess the effectiveness of a collaborative approach involving child psychiatrists and gynecologists in supporting high-risk families.
- To introduce a novel evaluation tool adapted from pediatric oncology for assessing child quality of life and parental perception.
Summary:
- A 4-year survey of 374 high-risk pregnant women in Brussels utilized a child psychiatry model for program evaluation.
- The model involved collaboration between child psychiatrists and gynecologists, providing support to expectant parents and their children.
- Indirect evaluation methods assessed screening quality and intervention efficiency, emphasizing the necessity of long-term child follow-up.
- A quality-of-life questionnaire, adapted from the EORTC pediatric oncology model, was administered to parents and sociomedical professionals.
Impact:
- The study highlights the value of a multidisciplinary approach in antenatal care for high-risk families.
- The proposed evaluation model offers a framework for assessing the efficacy of child abuse and neglect prevention programs.
- Combining parental and professional perspectives provides comprehensive insights into child well-being and family dynamics.
- This research underscores the importance of long-term follow-up in evaluating interventions aimed at preventing child maltreatment.
Abstract:
The evaluation of any antenatal prevention program of child abuse and neglect is limited for statistical and ethical reasons, as shown in the first part of the present study (cf., The obstetrical viewpoint by G. Soumenkoff). The authors propose a child psychiatry model of evaluation. Use of the model is illustrated by a 4-year survey of 374 selected high-risk pregnant women followed in the antenatal out-patient department of St. Pieters Hospital in Brussels. A child psychiatrist worked together with several gynecologists, supporting the high-risk couples as well as their children. Several indirect evaluation methods of the quality of screening and the efficiency of the work are analyzed. Long-term evaluation of the children is an absolute necessity. In order to evaluate this type of approach, a simple questionnaire concerning the quality of life of the children under study was derived from a model used in pediatric oncology by the EORTC and adapted to the problems of abused children. One part was answered by the parents which allowed the researchers to evaluate their perception of the child. The second part was filled out by the sociomedical professionals who followed the child. The combination of these two views is rich in information concerning the patient as well as the parents' attitude toward their child.