INTRODUCTIONThis study aimed to describe the demographic, social, developmental and behavioural profile of children hospitalised for alleged child maltreatment syndrome (CMS).
METHODSThis study was a retrospective review of the consecutive inpatient records of children (0-16 years) admitted to the National University Hospital, Singapore, for alleged CMS over a three-year period. Descriptive data on the demographic characteristics, alleged maltreatment, medical and developmental histories, and family background of these children were collected and analysed. Chi-square statistics were used to test whether family factors were associated with the type of maltreatment and the presence of developmental disorders.RESULTS A total of 89 children, who accounted for 90 admission cases, were studied. Physical abuse (70.0%) was the most common, followed by neglect (11.1%) and sexual abuse (7.8%). Child protection services had already been involved in 29.2% of the cases prior to the child's admission. Children who were victims of abuse were more likely to come from homes with a prior history of domestic violence (p = 0.028). Financial difficulty was found to be a risk factor for neglect (p = 0.005). Among the 89 children, 15.7% were found to have developmental disorders and 10.1% had mental health diagnoses. Children who had developmental disorders were more likely to have a parent with a mental health disorder (p = 0.002).CONCLUSION A sizeable proportion of the children admitted for alleged CMS had developmental or behavioural disorders.Clinicians have a role in ensuring that these children have appropriate follow-up plans. Children from high-risk families should be screened for maltreatment.
Child maltreatment is a worldwide phenomenon with far-reaching negative consequences, and physical abuse is its most visible and widely reported form of maltreatment. There is a fine line between nonabusive physical punishment and physical child abuse, and where this line is drawn is often influenced by prevailing cultural practices and child-rearing beliefs. This article focus on Singapore-a modern Asian society that remains rooted in traditional attitudes and practices-as a case study in exploring the boundaries. In particular, the local practice of caning (hitting with a rattan cane) as a disciplinary measure for children, the ambiguity of the law on the issue of physical abuse, and the influence of judicial caning on the acceptability of this common practice are examined. Finally, the possible means of safeguarding children and discouraging the use of physical punishment in the home are discussed.
This was a retrospective, matched case-control study that aimed to investigate sROP in VLBW infants. Inclusion criteria for both cases and controls were VLBW (i.e. ≤ 1,500 g) infants with GA < 32 weeks born in National University Hospital, Singapore, from January 2001 to December 2013, who survived till their first ophthalmological examination at six weeks or > 36 weeks, as per the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) guidelines. The study was approved by the National Healthcare Group
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