Interdisciplinary child protection team work in a hospital setting

A retrospective study consisting of a data analysis of the Salzburg Child Protection Team (CPT) documentation and medical documentation was carried out. The objective was to investigate the frequency and distribution of maltreatment diagnoses and the spectrum of clinical symptoms of children reported to the interdisciplinary Salzburg CPT between 1996 and 2001.

The documentation covered a total of 286 children and adolescents (117 boys, 169 girls; mean age: 6.9±4.9 years) that the CPT suspected of being maltreated. The annual mean frequency of children reported to the CPT was 0.72% of all inpatients, with maltreatment being confirmed in 0.44% of the cases (61.2% of the children reported). The maltreatment could be classified into physical (26.9%), sexual (14.0%), neglect (17.5%) and Munchhausen’s syndrome by proxy (2.4%). In 17.5% of the suspected cases the suspicion of maltreatment was subsequently judged to be incorrect, while in 21.7% of the cases, doubt remained. In 43% of all cases the suspected perpetrators were one or both parents, and in 8.3% the perpetrator was a person from outside the family. The police were informed in 20.3% of the cases, and the Youth Welfare Department was informed in 62.6% of the cases. In conclusion, the frequency of maltreatment diagnoses is lower than expected.

Although the work of CPT can be considered to be effective and useful, better diagnostic selectivity and specificity and a long-term follow-up are required.