@article{ref1,
title="The value of paediatric assessment in historic child sexual abuse",
journal="Archives of disease in childhood",
year="2017",
author="Al-Jilaihawi, Sarah and Borg, Kevin and Maguire, Sabine and Hodes, Deborah",
volume="102",
number="6",
pages="550-555",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: A perception exists that there are few benefits of a paediatric assessment in historic child sexual abuse (CSA), as the likelihood of finding forensic evidence is low. <br><br>AIM: To determine the value of a comprehensive paediatric assessment in a dedicated clinic for children and young people who present following suspicion or allegation of historic CSA. <br><br>METHOD: All children with suspected or alleged historic CSA, defined as >7 days after the last episode of sexual assault in pubertal girls, or >3 days for prepubertal girls and all boys, were assessed in a specialised paediatric clinic. Clinic data were collected prospectively between October 2009 and November 2014 and through retrospective case note review. <br><br>RESULTS: Among the 249 children who presented with possible historic CSA, ages ranged from 0 to 17 years (median 7, SD 4.3). Of these children, 141 (57%) had a medical concern(s) related to the referral reason, 78 (31%) had an unrelated medical concern(s) and 55 (22%) had emotional or behavioural concerns requiring onward referral, while 18 (7%) children had physical signs supportive of CSA. <br><br>FINDINGS referable to social care were identified in 26 cases (10%), the police in 6 cases and 15 (6%) parents required professional help for anxiety symptoms. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the value of a comprehensive paediatric assessment in a dedicated clinic for cases of suspected or alleged historic CSA, by identifying a broad variety of unmet health needs in this group. The findings have important implications for the child, their families and the multiagency team.<br><br>Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-9888",
doi="10.1136/archdischild-2016-311989",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2016-311989"
}