Maltreatment-related emergency department visits among children 0 to 3 years old in the United States
Date
2015
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Child Maltreatment
Abstract
The emergency department (ED) is a vital entry point in the health care system for children who experience maltreatment. This
study fills a gap in the maltreatment literature by presenting systematic, national estimates of maltreatment-related ED visits in
the United States by children 3 years old, from 2006 to 2011, using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS).
Children who experienced and likely experienced maltreatment were identified via International Classification of Diseases, Ninth
Revision, Clinical Modification diagnostic codes. Maltreatment was classified as physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or polyvictimization.
The clinical and demographic profiles of children who experienced maltreatment were described. Approximately
10,095 children who experienced maltreatment (0.1% of total ED visits) and 129,807 children who likely experienced maltreatment
(1.2% of total ED visits) were documented each year. Maltreatment was associated with significantly greater risk of injury,
hospitalization, and death in the ED setting. Physical abuse was the most common explicit maltreatment diagnosis (33 ED visits
per 100,000 children 3 years old) and neglect was the most common likely maltreatment diagnosis (436 ED visits per 100,000
children 3 years old). This study established the NEDS as a valuable complement to existing surveillance efforts of child maltreatment
from a public health perspective.
Description
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Keywords
child maltreatment, services utilization, database review, epidemiology, Public Health
Citation
King, A., Farst, K., Jaeger, M., Onukwube, J., & Robbins, J. (2015). Maltreatment-related emergency department visits among children 0 to 3 years old in the United States. Child maltreatment, 1077559514567176.