Current pediatric roles in child abuse and neglect
B. D. Schmitt
Many pediatricians are being called on to undertake expanded roles in the
field of child abuse and neglect, whether as a practicing pediatrician, a
hospital-based child abuse consultant, or as a child protection team
pediatrician. The practicing pediatrician must consider the diagnosis of
child abuse and neglect, confirm the diagnosis, report all suspected cases
to child protective services, hospitalize any abused child who needs
protection, and provide preventive services. The hospital-based child abuse
consultant should provide consultation to primary physicians, report
seriously injured cases for the primary physician or surgeon, provide
expert medical testimony on difficult to prove cases, teach house staff and
medical students about child abuse and neglect, and improve treatment
services for abused children who are hospitalized. The child protection
team pediatrician will usually become involved in the broader problem of
improving team decision making and the interagency system that deals with
child abuse and neglect.
