TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Amongst Norwegian paediatricians there is little agreement in management of cases of suspected child maltreatment
JO  - Acta paediatrica
A1  - Vollmer-Sandholm, Mary Jo
A1  - Myhre, Arne Kristian
A1  - Otterman, Gabriel
A1  - Lydersen, Stian
A1  - Stray-Pedersen, Arne
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - AIM: Child maltreatment is not unusual in our society but little is known about medical management of cases in the Nordic countries. This study investigated physician knowledge and practice in cases of suspected physical and sexual abuse and neglect. <br><br>METHODS: Using a patient vignette questionnaire, we assessed paediatrician knowledge and clinical decision-making on paediatric wards at 17 hospitals in Norway. Experts and non-experts in child maltreatment responded to the survey which described six potential cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 156 paediatricians, 67% of whom were female and with a mean age of 40, responded. There was a high level of unanimity in recognition of abuse, but wide variation and little consensus in clinical decision-making and adherence to national guidelines, with Fleiss kappa ranging from -0.002 to 0.468. In cases involving physical abuse concerns in infants and toddlers less than half of all paediatricians reported they would order full radiologic skeletal survey and head MRI/CT imaging, and less than 30% would plan follow-up consultations CONCLUSION: This study shows little agreement in the paediatric management of child maltreatment cases. These findings suggest the need for a national plan ensuring appropriate paediatric care for maltreated children.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0803-5253
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apa.16017
ID  - ref1
ER  -