Hospital staff effective at reporting child abuse
A new study from Perth's The Kids for Child Health Research has found that most cases of child abuse or neglect that are identified in hospital are later substantiated.
The study, published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia, is the first in Australia to cross match anonymised hospital and child protection records.
Study leader Dr Melissa O'Donnell said the findings show that the hospital protocols for reporting child maltreatment were working.
The study showed that 90% of children admitted to hospital where concerns of maltreatment were identified had contact with the Department of Child Protection (DCP). More than 80% of these children were notified to the DCP with a specific allegation and 68 % had substantiated allegations.
"This an important study because it's the first to use such data from hospitals and the Department of Child Protection to determine the effectiveness of the health system in helping to protect children," Dr O'Donnell says.
"The study confirms that most children suspected during a hospital admission of having been abused were notified to child protection agencies and most of these cases were substantiated."
Specific injuries and conditions were associated with children who had greater contact with the DCP, including retinal haemorrhage, rib fractures, multiple injuries and malnourishment.
Dr O'Donnell says the introduction of interdepartmental protocols to notify the DCP of all positive cases of STI in children under the age of 14 means children who might previously have remained at risk of abuse are now successfully being identified.
"After the introduction of the Sexually Transmitted Infections interagency Protocol, over half of the children notified to the Department for Child Protection were found to be abused or at risk, supporting the continuation of this protocol".
Dr O'Donnell says research of this nature plays an important role in assessing the effectiveness of child abuse strategies that can be monitored over time and compared with other jurisdictions.
Institute Director and co-author Professor Fiona Stanley said the results reinforced the important role that hospitals play in identifying children at risk of being abused so the cycle of abuse can be broken.
"To prevent child maltreatment, it is important that we provide support for at-risk families, or at least identify children who are being maltreated early in the abuse cycle, to reduce harm. Hospitals play an important role in identifying and treating suspected non-accidental injuries and reporting them to child protection agencies," Professor Stanley said.
The study used anonymised, record-linked child protection and hospital morbidity data to investigate public and private hospital admissions for children aged 0-17 years in Western Australia between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2005 and their contact with the Western Australian DCP.
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