Paediatric trauma: when it is not an accident.
A portion of childhood trauma seen in any emergency department will be non-accidental in origin. Child abuse is a world-wide phenomenon that transcends race, religion, colour and socio-economic status. Any aspect of child abuse is likely to interfere with the child's normal social, cognitive and spiritual development. A variety of injuries may be seen in the abused child and the emergency nurse is placed in a strategic position to identify and intervene in these cases. This paper aims to review some of the current research and literature, specifically in regard to physical child abuse, risk factors, presentation patterns and links with domestic violence.
Spencer
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Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. radspencer@ozemail.com
D002056:Burns; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000941:ethics; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003288:Contusions; D017579:Domestic Violence; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods*; D050723:Fractures, Bone; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors