Background: Children are dependent on parents and care givers for the quality of health care services received and in developing countries, where they are not protected against child abuse; many die as a result of denial of appropriate treatment.
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the causes, spectrum and effects of abuse and neglect on surgical children.
Methods: Analysis of cases of surgical child abuse and neglect between January, 1998 and December, 2007 at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria, was done.
Results: A total of 281 children aged two days and 12 years comprising 113 males and 168 females with male to female ratio 1:1.4, mainly with congenital malformation, suffered surgical child abuse and neglect ranging from delayed presentation, to child abandonment which was perpetuated by ignorance, poverty, superstitious beliefs, customs as well as non availability of free medical services for children. Counselling and home visits in addition to surgeries were done and 198 (70.5%) children were successfully treated with those abandoned happily reunited with their families, while 56 (19.9%) mortality was recorded due to complications of the primary surgical pathology, and this was statistically significant compared with other children with similar lesions but without abuse or neglect during the period (p=0.0102). Whereas 27 (9.6%) among those discharged against medical advice were lost to follow-up, of the 198 children that survived, 22 suffered psychological trauma and were co-managed with psychologists while seven were transferred to orphanage homes.
Conclusion: Surgical child abuse/neglect is rampant, hence, it is hoped that these findings will influence policy makers in this sub-region to formulate policies that will protect children against this form of child abuse.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/wajm.v28i5.55009 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Prevalence of child maltreatment in Albania.
East Mediterr Health J
December 2024
Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania.
Background: Child maltreatment is a global issue that significantly impacts children's lives. In 2018, 32% of 15-year-olds in Albania reported experiencing physical abuse.
Aim: To assess the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of child abuse and neglect in Albania.
Improving the evaluation of non-accidental trauma across multiple specialties at a single institution.
BMJ Open Qual
January 2025
Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, Falls Church, Virginia, USA.
Background: Based on the presenting injury, patients undergoing abuse evaluation may be managed by different specialties. Our local child abuse specialist expressed concern over the variability in evaluation of patients presenting with injuries concerning for non-accidental trauma (NAT). The aim of this quality improvement project was to increase the percentage of patients for whom there is a concern for NAT who receive a guideline-adherent evaluation from 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdverse childhood experiences and adult alcohol use during pregnancy - 41 U.S. jurisdictions, 2019-2023.
Prev Med
January 2025
Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are preventable, potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. Alcohol use during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, and a range of lifelong behavioral, intellectual, and physical disabilities in the child. Limited research has examined the relationship between ACEs and alcohol use in pregnancy; available studies might not reflect current trends in this relationship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdverse Childhood Experiences: Increased Likelihood Of Socioeconomic Disadvantages For Young Adults.
Health Aff (Millwood)
January 2025
Cora Peterson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 60 percent of US adults report that they had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). For this study of 930,000 children born during the period 1999-2003, we used linked administrative, survey, and criminal justice data to measure the association between ACEs (parental death; separation; incarceration; or criminal charge for intimate partner violence, substance use disorder, or child sexual or nonsexual abuse) and socioeconomic disadvantages at ages 18-22 during 2017-21. After childhood socioeconomic status was controlled for, young adults with ACEs were more likely to have been charged with felonies, have become teenage parents, live in a household with poverty or housing assistance, be enrolled in Medicaid, and be employed, and were less likely to be enrolled in an educational institution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSelf-Diagnosed Cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder on Social Media: Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment.
Harv Rev Psychiatry
January 2025
From School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales (Dr. Salter); Department of Psychology, Towson University (Dr. Brand); Harvard Medical School (Dr. Robinson); School of Medicine, University of Maryland (Dr. Loewenstein); The Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence, Towson, MD (Dr. Silberg); Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University (Dr. Korzekwa).
Recent global popularity of social media content about dissociative identity disorder (DID) has coincided with increased self-diagnosis among children and young people who have formed large online communities and presented in clinical settings seeking to affirm their self-diagnoses. We situate this phenomenon within a broader trend toward self-diagnosis due to the widespread visibility and accessibility of mental health content on social media. Social media propelled self-diagnosis raises particular questions for the study and treatment of DID due to long-standing debates over whether the condition is traumagenic, sociogenic, or iatrogenic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!