Child abuse cases may have declined during pandemic, study finds

While natural disasters and economic recessions traditionally trigger an increase in child abuse, a new study suggests cases may have declined in the first few months of the pandemic, compared to the same period in previous years.

In the study, led by children’s hospitals UCSF Benioff and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, researchers followed the number of pediatric patients aged 5 and under at 52 children’s hospitals nationwide for the first eight months of 2020. They observed a sharp drop in the number of emergencies. hospital visits and admissions, including those requiring treatment for physical violence. It started in mid-March – around the time some states issued shelter-in-place orders – according to the study, published on March 1, 2021 in Pediatrics.

When the researchers looked at the proportion of patients whose maltreatment resulted in ICU admission and other markers of serious injury, between March 16 and August 31, they found little difference between the same time period. from previous years.

If the proportion of children diagnosed with more severe violent injuries had increased during the pandemic, this would indicate that the decline in physical violence was caused by children with less severe violent injuries not showing up for medical care. or missed by clinicians. Instead, we found that the severity of injuries was similar to before the pandemic, suggesting that physical violence may have decreased similarly across the severity spectrum. “

Sunitha Kaiser, MD, lead author, pediatric hospitalist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF

The researchers found that there was a lower percentage of physically abused infants requiring intensive care unit care during the pandemic period compared to the same period in previous years: 15.4% versus 21.3%. The study found little difference between these delays in the proportion of abused children who died in hospital (about 2%) and the proportion of abused children admitted with a violent head injury.

CARES, eviction protection measures may have prevented child abuse

Although other studies may reveal different patterns, including the possibility that evidence of abuse may not be apparent for months, Kaiser suggests that interventions such as the CARES Act financial allocations (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) and eviction protections may have alleviated adult stress, preventing spikes in child abuse.

“Our take-home message is that policies that help reduce stress on families must continue to be a priority to prevent children from suffering unnecessary harm. Clinicians, teachers and caregivers also need to continue to be extra vigilant when suspecting and reporting potential abuse, as we know it. is historically under-detected and under-reported. “

Other explanations for the study’s results include the inability of clinicians to identify abuse, a scenario that Kaiser says is less likely because patient volumes declined during the pandemic, allowing doctors to spend potentially more time for patients with injuries of questionable causes.

A 2016 article cited in the study found that the rate of severe head injuries in children under age 5 fell from 9.8 per 100,000 children before 2007 to 15.6 per 100,000 child-years during the recession of 2007 to 2009.