AI Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate cases of nonsexual violence against children and adolescents at a university hospital over a 15-year period, analyzing various factors such as types of violence and patients' demographics.
- Out of 295,993 patients, 240 (0.1%) were diagnosed with nonsexual violence, with the majority being children (61.7%), and the most common forms identified were negligence (65.0%), physical violence (25.8%), and psychological/emotional aggression (21.7%).
- The findings revealed significant differences in referral sources, with more children being referred from emergency departments compared to adolescents, indicating varied patterns of violence detection and reporting between these age groups.
Article Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess interpersonal nonsexual violence against children and adolescents in a tertiary university hospital.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 240 patients under nonsexual violence situation for 15 consecutive years. Data analyses included demographic data, hospital referral site, type and author of nonsexual violence, legal referral, laboratorial and imaging examinations, and outcomes.
Results: Nonsexual violence situation was diagnosed in 240 (0.1%) of 295,993 patients for 15 years: 148 (61.7%) in children and 92 (38.3%) in adolescents. Out of 240, the most frequent types of violence were negligence in 156 (65.0%), physical 62 (25.8%), psychological/emotional aggression 52 (21.7%), Munchausen by proxy syndrome 4 (1.7%), and bullying/cyberbullying in 3 (1.3%). Out of 123, the most common pediatric chronic conditions were chronic kidney disease 24 (19.5%), human immunodeficiency virus 14 (11.4%), prematurity 9 (7.3%), cerebral palsy 8 (6.5%), and asthma 8 (6.5%). Further comparison between children versus adolescent under nonsexual violence situation revealed significant difference between the hospital referral sites. The frequency of patients under violence referred from outpatient clinics was significantly reduced in children versus adolescents (27.7 vs. 62%), whereas emergency department was higher in the former group (57.4 vs. 25.0%; p<0.001). All types of violence situations and pediatric chronic conditions were similar in both groups (p>0.05).
Conclusions: Nonsexual violence against our pediatric population was rarely diagnosed in a tertiary hospital, mainly negligence, physical, and psychological/emotional aggression. Approximately two-thirds of violence diagnosis occurred in children, referred mainly by the emergency department. In contrast, approximately one-third of violence diagnosis occurred in adolescents, referred mostly by outpatient clinics.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9095060 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1984-0462/2022/40/2021101IN | DOI Listing |
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