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. 2021 Jun;116(Pt 2):104990.
doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.104990. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

COVID-19: Differences in sentinel injury and child abuse reporting during a pandemic

Supriya Sharma  1 , Daphne Wong  2 , John Schomberg  2 , Chloe Knudsen-Robbins  3 , David Gibbs  2 , Carol Berkowitz  4 , Theodore Heyming  5
Affiliations

COVID-19: Differences in sentinel injury and child abuse reporting during a pandemic

Supriya Sharma et al. Child Abuse Negl. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background and objectives: There is widespread concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of child maltreatment. However, reports in the scientific literature documenting rates of child maltreatment during this period are scarce. This study was designed to explore whether the incidence of child maltreatment among patients presenting to a pediatric emergency department has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients of all ages presenting to a pediatric Emergency Department trauma center, who also had a child abuse report filing or a sentinel injury diagnosis related to their index visit. All such patients who presented to this institution from March through July of 2017 through 2020 were included in the study.

Results: Analysis demonstrated an increase in the incidence of child maltreatment in May and June of 2020 and that there was an overall shift in distribution of types of child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant increase in the proportion of emotional/psychological abuse (2.52 % before the pandemic to 7.00 % during the pandemic, p ≤ 0.0001) and non-medical neglect (31.5%-40.0%, p ≤ 0.0001).

Conclusions: We observed an increase in specific types of child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the need for increased attention to children at risk for child abuse and neglect.

Keywords: COVID-19; Child maltreatment; Neglect; Pediatric emergency department.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Abuse type before vs. during COVID-19.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Rate of sentinel injury in children <6 months of age before vs. during COVID-19 stay-at-home policy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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