A new study has found that emergency rooms may not be properly trained to identify child maltreatment. In a perfect world, children would all live healthy and happy lives, but (sadly) that is not the case. There are cases of child abuse and maltreatment every single day, and those are only the ones we know about. Child maltreatment can have significant impacts on the health of children.
There needs to be training and education in place to make sure those who need to know recognize the signs of child abuse. This includes education workers, police officers, and hospital staff. If children are going to the ER for injuries that were a result of child abuse, the workers need to be able to recognize it.
According to Medical Xpress, a study has found that hospital emergency departments are lacking in policies and strategies for spotting child abuse, and neglect. This study was done by the European Society for Emergency Medicine, and it can be read in full here.
This was done by completing a survey of emergency department staff, and only half said that they had an actual policy in place that would help the staff be able to identify children who were being abused or neglected at home.
Since the ER is a place where a lot of abused children end up, it is crucial that the staff are able to notice the signs and get the appropriate help that the child needs. Previous studies have shown that hospitals that have policies in place are more likely to be effective in identifying children who are maltreated. These policies include screening tools and staff training.
While these surveys were done across Europe, it can highlight the need to review how it is done in the US, and other countries around the world. If they are able to help hospitals be better equipped to notice signs of abuse, they can save more children who would otherwise have fallen through the cracks.
Researchers are suggesting that all hospitals have a toolkit that they use for spotting child maltreatment, and this would include training for the staff and education on what to look for and what to do if they believe a child is being abused.
The study has shown that these policies can help notice child abuse, and since it works, they should be implemented across the country and the entire world. Children rely on the surrounding adults to notice that something is wrong, and we cannot let them down.
Sources: Medical Xpress, EUSEM