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Association of routine school closures with child maltreatment reporting and substantiation in the United States; 2010-2017.
Puls, Henry T; Hall, Matthew; Frazier, Terra; Schultz, Kelly; Anderst, James D.
  • Puls HT; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, United States of America. Electronic address: htpuls@cmh.edu.
  • Hall M; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, United States of America; Children's Hospital Association, Lenexa, KS, United States of America.
  • Frazier T; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, United States of America.
  • Schultz K; Office of Child Advocate, Office of Administration, State of Missouri, United States of America.
  • Anderst JD; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, United States of America.
Child Abuse Negl ; 120: 105257, 2021 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1350896
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

There exists a presumption that school closures lead to a diminished capacity to detect child maltreatment, but empiric evidence is lacking.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine if child maltreatment reporting and substantiation differ between periods when schools are routinely closed compared to in session. PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING:

Child maltreatment reporting and substantiation among all U.S. States and the District of Columbia from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2017.

METHODS:

Two-week intervals during periods of routine school closure (early January, June through mid-August, late November, and late December) were compared to all other 2-week intervals. Negative binomial generalized estimating equations compared rates of reporting and substantiation, resulting in incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS:

Compared to when school was in session, reporting was 16.0% (IRR 0.84 [95% CI 0.83, 0.85]) lower during school closures and substantiations were 12.3% (IRR 0.88 [95% CI 0.86, 0.89]) lower. The largest reductions in reporting were observed among education personnel (-42.1%; IRR 0.58 [95% CI 0.54, 0.62]), children aged 5-17 years (-18.6%; IRR 0.81 [95% CI 0.80, 0.83), and for physical abuse (-19.6%; IRR 0.80 [95% CI 0.79, 0.82]). Reductions during closure periods were not matched by increases during two-week intervals immediately following closure periods.

CONCLUSIONS:

Results suggest that the detection of child maltreatment may be diminished during periods of routine school closure. Findings may inform prevention planning and risk-benefit analyses for future school closures. Further study should disentangle the issue of decreased detection versus decreased prevalence of maltreatment during school closures.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Child Abuse / Mandatory Reporting Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Adolescent / Child / Child, preschool / Humans Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: Child Abuse Negl Year: 2021 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Child Abuse / Mandatory Reporting Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Adolescent / Child / Child, preschool / Humans Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: Child Abuse Negl Year: 2021 Document Type: Article