Schouten, M. C. M., van Stel, H. F., Verheij, T. J. M., Nieuwenhuis, E. E. S., & van de Putte, E. M.2016-11-282016-11-282016Schouten, 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/s12875-016-0554-4https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5101665/pdf/12875_2016_Article_554.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/3055Child 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.enscreeningprimary care settingchild abuseprotocolInternational ResourcesNetherlandsArticle