title: Child maltreatment: pathway to chronic and long-term conditions?
abstract: The manifesto Start Well, Live Better by the UK Faculty of Public Health (Start Well, Live Better-A Manifesto for the Public's Health. London: UK Faculty of Public Health, 2014) sets out 12 compelling priorities for the protection of people's health. The focus of this document is preventative, calling for a comprehensive strategy to target a wide-ranging set of challenges to public health; however, it fails to mention child maltreatment and its negative impact on long-term health outcomes. In this article, we explore the long-term negative consequences of child maltreatment and how these can be conceptually aligned with four different characteristics of long-term health conditions. We suggest that situating child maltreatment within a long-term conditions framework could have significant advantages and implications for practice, policy and research, by strengthening a commitment across disciplines to apply evidence-based principles linked with policy and evaluation and recognizing the chronic effects of maltreatment to concentrate public, professional and government awareness of the extent and impact of the issue. We argue that a public health approach is the most effective way of focusing preventative efforts on the long-term sequelae of child maltreatment and to foster cooperation in promoting children's rights to grow and develop in a safe and caring environment free from violence and abuse.
authors: Child Protection Research Centre, University of Edinburgh/NSPCC, Simon Laurie House, 186-198 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, UK.
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Taylor
authors: School of Health and Population Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Bradbury-Jones
authors: Institute of Child Care Research, School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, 6 College Park, Belfast BT7 1LP, UK.
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Lazenbatt
authors: Child Protection Research Centre, University of Edinburgh/NSPCC, Simon Laurie House, 186-198 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, UK.
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Soliman
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods; D011640:Public Policy
keywords: child maltreatment; chronic disease; management and policy