Biomaterial Database

Multidisciplinary approach to working with burn victims of child abuse. 1988

C L Weimer, and I W Goldfarb, and H Slater

Department of Social Service, Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh 15224.

Successful outcomes in abuse cases are dependent upon close coordination of professional hospital staff with referring agencies including child protective services and the legal and judicial systems. A four-year retrospective study of 369 pediatric burn patients admitted to our Burn/Trauma Center was completed to: (1) assess demographic factors of patients and families that differentiate cases of child abuse from cases of children burned as a result of accidental injury, and (2) determine the impact of a multidisciplinary team approach to working with abused children and their families during the course of hospitalization. When medical evaluation reveals the possibility of child abuse, a social work assessment, including a developmental history of the child and psychosocial assessment of the family, is crucial. In addition, physicians must be well versed in the gathering of evidence for potential utilization by the legal system. This includes the obtainment of photographs and detailed documentation of the burn injury. A plan of evaluation and the effective coordination of services during hospitalization and following discharge have proven essential to meeting the best interests of the child.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D010348	Patient Care Team	Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.	Health Care Team,Interdisciplinary Health Team,Medical Care Team,Multidisciplinary Care Team,Multidisciplinary Health Team,Healthcare Team,Care Team, Health,Care Team, Medical,Care Team, Multidisciplinary,Care Team, Patient,Care Teams, Health,Care Teams, Patient,Health Care Teams,Health Team, Interdisciplinary,Health Team, Multidisciplinary,Healthcare Teams,Interdisciplinary Health Teams,Medical Care Teams,Multidisciplinary Care Teams,Multidisciplinary Health Teams,Patient Care Teams,Team, Health Care,Team, Healthcare,Team, Interdisciplinary Health,Team, Medical Care,Team, Multidisciplinary Care,Team, Multidisciplinary Health,Team, Patient Care,Teams, Interdisciplinary Health
D002056	Burns	Injuries to tissues caused by contact with heat, steam, chemicals (BURNS, CHEMICAL), electricity (BURNS, ELECTRIC), or the like.	Burn
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002649	Child Abuse	Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Abuse Experiences, Childhood,Child Neglect,Child Neglect Experiences,Child Neglect, Physical,Childhood Abuse Experiences,Childhood Neglect Experiences,Neglect Experience, Childhood,Neglect Experiences, Childhood,Physical Neglect, Childhood,Child Maltreatment,Child Mistreatment,Abuse Experience, Childhood,Abuse, Child,Child Neglect Experience,Childhood Abuse Experience,Childhood Neglect Experience,Childhood Physical Neglect,Childhood Physical Neglects,Experience, Child Neglect,Experience, Childhood Abuse,Experience, Childhood Neglect,Maltreatment, Child,Mistreatment, Child,Neglect Experience, Child,Neglect, Child,Neglect, Childhood Physical,Neglect, Physical Child,Physical Child Neglect,Physical Child Neglects
D002655	Child Custody	The formally authorized guardianship or care of a CHILD.	Custody, Child,Child Support,Support, Child
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man