A screening protocol for child abuse at out-of-hours primary care locations: a descriptive study

BMC Family Practice

Research Article

Henk F. van Stel¹  Theo J. M. Verheij¹  Elise M. van de Putte²  Edward E. S. Nieuwenhuis²  Maartje C. M. Schouten³ 

[1] Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Division of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, Postbox 85090, 3508 AB, Utrecht, The Netherlands;

关键词: Child abuse;    Mass screening;    Primary health care;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12875-016-0554-4

 received in 2016-06-03, accepted in 2016-10-29,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChild abuse is often unrecognized at out-of-hours primary care (OOH-PC) services. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of the screening instrument SPUTOVAMO-R2 for child abuse (checklist), followed by a structured approach (reporting code), at OOH-PC services. The reporting code with five steps should ensure consistent action in case of a suspicion.MethodsAll children attending one of the five participating OOH-PC services in the region of Utrecht, the Netherlands, in a year time, were included. The checklist is an obligatory field in the electronic patient file and was filled in for all children. In case of a positive checklist, the steps in the reporting code were followed. Additionally, the case was evaluated in a multidisciplinary team to determine the probability of child abuse.ResultsThe checklist was filled in for 50671 children; 108 (0.2 %) were positive. The multidisciplinary team diagnosed child abuse in 24 (22 %) of the 108 positive checklists, and no child abuse in 36 (33 %). Emotional neglect was the most frequent type of abuse diagnosed. For all abused children, care was implemented according to the protocol. The most frequent care given was a referral to the hospital (N = 7) or contact with child’s own general practitioner (N = 6).ConclusionA checklist followed by a reporting code guarantees consistent actions and care for children with a suspicion of child abuse. The percentage of positive checklists is lower than expected. Validity of the checklist should be assessed in a diagnostic study.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016