A screening protocol for child abuse at out-of-hours primary care locations: A descriptive study
Date
2016
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Publisher
BMC Family Practice
Abstract
Child 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.
All 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.
The 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).
A 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.
Description
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Keywords
screening, primary care setting, child abuse, protocol, International Resources, Netherlands
Citation
Schouten, M. C. M., van Stel, H. F., Verheij, T. J. M., Nieuwenhuis, E. E. S., & van de Putte, E. M. (2016). A screening protocol for child abuse at out-of-hours primary care locations: a descriptive study. BMC Family Practice, 17, 155. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-016-0554-4