title: Analysis of national empirical data on the characteristics and trends of injury among Taiwan's victims of hospitalized child abuse between 1997 and 2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the characteristics and trends of injury among hospitalized child abuse children younger than 18 years between 1997 and 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  We selected hospitalized child abuse cases from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) Database in accordance with ICD-9-CM 995.5x or E967.x.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 1,212 victims of hospitalized child abuse during the research period, including 735 boys and 477 girls. The victims were most frequently inflicted by the father or stepfather, and the most common injury was intracranial damage; besides, the victims most commonly sought treatment in medical centers. Infants younger than 1 year accounted for the highest percentage of hospitalized victims. Although there were no apparent trends in the overall hospitalization rate of the child abuse victims over the 13-year period, the rate of abuse among girls increased gradually over the years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The medical staff in hospitals should provide appropriate treatment to the victims and contact relevant organizations to intervene; moreover, government agencies should formulate effective control measures to develop a safe growth environment for children.
authors.affiliation: National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan. chienwu@ndmctsgh.edu.tw
authors.forename: Wu-Chien
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Chi-Hsiang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.forename: Senyeong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Yu-Luan
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Chien-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001497:Battered Child Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D015984:Causality; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D038642:Shaken Baby Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D013624:Taiwan; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology