Prevention strategies in child maltreatment.
OBJECTIVE
Child maltreatment remains a prevalent problem for which notable best practices such as home visitation can be effective; however, most eligible families do not receive these beneficial services. Additionally, there are other promising prevention interventions to effectively address child maltreatment. This review focuses on the recent advances and strategies for child maltreatment prevention.


RESULTS
Although home visiting does not have a single clearly defined methodology of providing service to children and families, the general supportive framework to improve maternal, child, and family factors makes this intervention the most widely studied and accepted prevention strategy. However, there has been limited effectiveness for most models. The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) has provided consistently positive results by targeting families with many risk factors by using highly trained professionals when implementing a research-based intervention. A promising public health approach to parent training (Triple P) may reduce maltreatment and out-of-home placement. Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), while a treatment model, is becoming an increasingly important approach to child maltreatment prevention. There may be an opportunity to reduce child maltreatment by enhancing care in the pediatric medical home setting.


CONCLUSIONS
Effective child maltreatment prevention efforts exist; however, not all programs provide the same effectiveness, or target the same maltreatment issues. Pediatricians are in a key position to offer support to families in their own practice, as well as to direct families to the appropriate resources available.
Scribano
Philip V
PV
Center for Child and Family Advocacy, Nationwide Children's Hospital,and Division of Child and Family Advocacy, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio 43205, USA. philip.scribano@nationwidechildrens.org
D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors