Child Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Child Abuse, including details on family violence, examinations, long-term effects, psychiatrics disorders.

Medical training in child maltreatment.

Reece RM, Jenny C

Tufts University School of Medicine, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA. rmreece1@aol.com

Training of medical professionals about child maltreatment may provide useful insights into the means of incorporating violence detection and prevention into healthcare practice. Despite major progress since Caffey and Kempe identified child abuse as a medical issue, more needs to be done to ensure that proper recognition, diagnostic, and reporting strategies are used when faced with the possible abuse and neglect of children. Systematic data concerning training programs are lacking. The perceived needs include more consistent education for medical professionals, more federal support for clinical research funding, higher reimbursement rates from third-party payers for clinical care for maltreated children, board certification for doctors who want to specialize in this field, and medical licensure requirements for continuing education in child and family violence. It is clear that interpersonal violence, whether it is child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, or elder abuse, is a significant public health problem in the United States, requiring support for the education and training of medical professionals.

Published 26 December 2005 in Am J Prev Med, 29(5): 266-71.
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