TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying Populations at Risk for Child Abuse
T2 - A Nationwide Analysis
AU - Quiroz, Hallie J.
AU - Parreco, Joshua
AU - Easwaran, Lavanya
AU - Willobee, Brent
AU - Ferrantella, Anthony
AU - Rattan, Rishi
AU - Thorson, Chad M.
AU - Sola, Juan E.
AU - Perez, Eduardo A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2020/1
Y1 - 2020/1
N2 - Purpose: Child abuse is a national, often hidden, epidemic. The study objective was to determine at-risk populations that have been previously hospitalized prior to their admission for child abuse. Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) was queried for all children hospitalized for abuse. Outcomes were previous admissions and diagnoses. χ2 analysis was used; significance equals p < 0.05. Results: 31,153 children were hospitalized for abuse (half owing to physical abuse) during the study period. 11% (n = 3487) of these children had previous admissions (one in three to a different hospital), while 3% (n = 1069) had multiple hospitalizations. 60% of prior admissions had chronic conditions, and 12% had traumatic injuries. Children with chronic conditions were more likely to have sexual abuse (89% vs. 57%, p < 0. 001) and emotional abuse (75% vs. 60%, p < 0. 01). 25% of chronic diagnoses were psychiatric, who were also more likely to have sexual and emotional abuse (47% vs. 5.5% and 10% vs. 1%, all p < 0. 001). Conclusion: This study uncovers a hidden population of children with past admissions for chronic conditions, especially psychiatric diagnoses that are significantly associated with certain types of abuse. Improved measures to accurately identify at-risk children must be developed to prevent future childhood abuse and trauma. Level of evidence: Level III. Type of study: Retrospective comparative study.
AB - Purpose: Child abuse is a national, often hidden, epidemic. The study objective was to determine at-risk populations that have been previously hospitalized prior to their admission for child abuse. Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) was queried for all children hospitalized for abuse. Outcomes were previous admissions and diagnoses. χ2 analysis was used; significance equals p < 0.05. Results: 31,153 children were hospitalized for abuse (half owing to physical abuse) during the study period. 11% (n = 3487) of these children had previous admissions (one in three to a different hospital), while 3% (n = 1069) had multiple hospitalizations. 60% of prior admissions had chronic conditions, and 12% had traumatic injuries. Children with chronic conditions were more likely to have sexual abuse (89% vs. 57%, p < 0. 001) and emotional abuse (75% vs. 60%, p < 0. 01). 25% of chronic diagnoses were psychiatric, who were also more likely to have sexual and emotional abuse (47% vs. 5.5% and 10% vs. 1%, all p < 0. 001). Conclusion: This study uncovers a hidden population of children with past admissions for chronic conditions, especially psychiatric diagnoses that are significantly associated with certain types of abuse. Improved measures to accurately identify at-risk children must be developed to prevent future childhood abuse and trauma. Level of evidence: Level III. Type of study: Retrospective comparative study.
KW - Abuse
KW - Psychiatric diagnosis
KW - Traumatic injuries
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2019.09.069
DO - 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2019.09.069
M3 - Article
C2 - 31757508
AN - SCOPUS:85075897859
VL - 55
SP - 135
EP - 139
JO - Journal of Pediatric Surgery
JF - Journal of Pediatric Surgery
SN - 0022-3468
IS - 1
ER -