Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Medical institutions are required to report suspected cases of child abuse to administrative agencies, such as child guidance centers in Japan. It is left to the discretion of the medical institutions whether to notify the family of the child or the center. However, it is unclear what ki...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Pediatric Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2036-7503/14/4/56 |
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| author | Mio Urade Misao Fujita Atsushi Tsuchiya Katsumi Mori Eisuke Nakazawa Yoshiyuki Takimoto Akira Akabayashi |
| author_facet | Mio Urade Misao Fujita Atsushi Tsuchiya Katsumi Mori Eisuke Nakazawa Yoshiyuki Takimoto Akira Akabayashi |
| author_sort | Mio Urade |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Medical institutions are required to report suspected cases of child abuse to administrative agencies, such as child guidance centers in Japan. It is left to the discretion of the medical institutions whether to notify the family of the child or the center. However, it is unclear what kinds of measures are being taken to ensure a robust policy of notification versus non-notification and how notifying the family will affect the child. Methods: An unregistered questionnaire survey on reporting suspected child abuse cases to child consultation centers and notifying families was conducted by mail across 518 pediatric specialist training facility hospitals designated by the Japanese Pediatric Society. Results: Responses were received from 323 facilities (62.4% response rate), of which 5 facilities were excluded because of incomplete responses. Therefore, in all, 318 facilities were included in the analysis. The results showed that 59.8% of the facilities had a policy of notifying the family, 33.7% said the decision varies from case to case, and 6.6% did not have a policy of notifying the family. The facilities that had a policy of either notifying or not notifying the family were less likely to experience problems than those with a policy of deciding on a case-by-case basis. The proportion of cases in which some problems occurred was higher in the cases where families were notified than in the cases where they were not, with 51.4% of the children experiencing worsening of relationships with family members. In the cases where the families were not notified, the children were twice as likely to experience further abuse than in cases where the families were notified. Conclusion: Problems arise in the case of both notification and non-notification. It is necessary to examine background factors and specific methods of notification in the cases where problems arise. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:59:40Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2036-7503 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:59:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pediatric Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c2cc72306b514797849d8fceb002a4222023-11-24T17:15:08ZengMDPI AGPediatric Reports2036-75032022-11-0114447949010.3390/pediatric14040056Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional StudyMio Urade0Misao Fujita1Atsushi Tsuchiya2Katsumi Mori3Eisuke Nakazawa4Yoshiyuki Takimoto5Akira Akabayashi6Department of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanUehiro Research Division for iPS Cell Ethics, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, JapanGraduate School of Sociology, Kansai University, 3-3-35 Yamate-cho, Osaka 564-8680, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanBackground: Medical institutions are required to report suspected cases of child abuse to administrative agencies, such as child guidance centers in Japan. It is left to the discretion of the medical institutions whether to notify the family of the child or the center. However, it is unclear what kinds of measures are being taken to ensure a robust policy of notification versus non-notification and how notifying the family will affect the child. Methods: An unregistered questionnaire survey on reporting suspected child abuse cases to child consultation centers and notifying families was conducted by mail across 518 pediatric specialist training facility hospitals designated by the Japanese Pediatric Society. Results: Responses were received from 323 facilities (62.4% response rate), of which 5 facilities were excluded because of incomplete responses. Therefore, in all, 318 facilities were included in the analysis. The results showed that 59.8% of the facilities had a policy of notifying the family, 33.7% said the decision varies from case to case, and 6.6% did not have a policy of notifying the family. The facilities that had a policy of either notifying or not notifying the family were less likely to experience problems than those with a policy of deciding on a case-by-case basis. The proportion of cases in which some problems occurred was higher in the cases where families were notified than in the cases where they were not, with 51.4% of the children experiencing worsening of relationships with family members. In the cases where the families were not notified, the children were twice as likely to experience further abuse than in cases where the families were notified. Conclusion: Problems arise in the case of both notification and non-notification. It is necessary to examine background factors and specific methods of notification in the cases where problems arise.https://www.mdpi.com/2036-7503/14/4/56child abusenotification to familyJapanfact-findingcross-sectional study |
| spellingShingle | Mio Urade Misao Fujita Atsushi Tsuchiya Katsumi Mori Eisuke Nakazawa Yoshiyuki Takimoto Akira Akabayashi Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study Pediatric Reports child abuse notification to family Japan fact-finding cross-sectional study |
| title | Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | Facts and Recommendations regarding When Medical Institutions Report Potential Abuse to Child Guidance Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | facts and recommendations regarding when medical institutions report potential abuse to child guidance centers a cross sectional study |
| topic | child abuse notification to family Japan fact-finding cross-sectional study |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2036-7503/14/4/56 |
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