Health of Australian children in out‐of‐home care: Needs and carer recognition

Kaltner, Melissa; Rissel, Karin

doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2010.01899.x

Cited by 28 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…eczema, abdominal pain, constipation and soiling) . The overall high prevalence of physical health problems is in line with other Australian studies of children in OOHC . Some of the somatic symptoms identified in the clinic may have had an underlying mental health aetiology, in line with previous studies that have shown increased somatic symptoms in children with exposure to trauma …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…It is unsurprising that mental health and developmental concerns generated the most recommendations for further assessment or treatment. The high rates of referral for mental health care, speech therapy and ongoing paediatric care are also similar to interstate Australian studies and add to the evidence that children in OOHC warrant both careful and timely identification of health needs and access to services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When children are removed from birth families, the relevant authorities take on (directly or through delegation) the responsibility for the identification and management of their health needs. However, case managers and carers are often not well placed to accurately identify health needs …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health needs and timeliness of assessment of Victorian children entering out‐of‐home care: An audit of a multidisciplinary assessment clinic

McLean

Little

Scott

et al. 2019

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Aim To describe the health needs identified in children attending a comprehensive health assessment at a tertiary hospital, multidisciplinary clinic for children following entry to out‐of‐home care and timeliness of referral and assessment compared with national recommendations. Methods This was a retrospective audit of all the children who attended the Pathway to Good Health clinic at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne from May 2013 until 31 August 2016. Results A total of 119 children aged 0–12 years attended the clinic during the audit period. Of these children, 17% (including more than 30% of 0–2‐year‐olds) were not up‐to‐date with immunisations, and 87% had physical health concerns that were addressed on the day or needed further management. Over 50% had mental health concerns identified (76% of 7–12‐year‐olds). In children aged 3–6 years, 64% had behavioural problems and 77% had developmental problems identified. Only a third of the children was referred to the Pathway to Good Health clinic within the national standard of 30 days post‐entry to care, and 24% of children attended within 3 months of entry to care. Conclusion Children in out‐of‐home care within Victoria have high rates of physical, mental and developmental health concerns, consistent with previous studies. Timeliness of attendance at the clinic was low compared with national recommendations, even within a programme designed to facilitate timely health checks. This is the second and largest Australian study exploring timeliness of health checks. Further research would establish whether these results are more systemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health needs and timeliness of assessment of Victorian children entering out‐of‐home care: An audit of a multidisciplinary assessment clinic

McLean

Little

Scott

et al. 2019

J Paediatrics Child Health

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“…The high rate of health needs is likely to be attributable to many factors, including: The neglect and/or abuse that was the primary reason for involvement of Child Protective Services and placement in OOHC Trauma related to removal from family. A lack of utilisation of regular health services, including lack of response to and/or follow‐up of health needs prior to and while in OOHC The nature of OOHC: Where multiple short placements often result in further attachment issues and trauma. Health and development issues being unnoticed by short‐term carers. The child being lost to follow‐up by individual services because of the placement instability …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children in OOHC have typically experienced abuse, neglect and disrupted attachment . In a cohort of 980 Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in OOHC, 87% were impacted by family violence, and 87% had a parent with alcohol or substance abuse issues .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out‐of‐home care

Shmerling

Creati

Belfrage

et al. 2019

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Aim Children in statutory out‐of‐home care (OOHC) are known to have poorer physical, developmental and mental health outcomes compared with their peers. The number of children in OOHC is increasing in Australia, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children disproportionately represented. To document the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents in OOHC attending the paediatric service at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) between February 2014 and February 2016. Methods The electronic medical records of all patients in OOHC seen by a paediatrician at VAHS between February 2014 and February 2016 were audited. Demographic data, including age and type of OOHC placement, were recorded, as were their health needs. Results Of the 200 children seen by a paediatrician over this 2‐year period, 103 were identified as being in OOHC for all or some of this same period: 43 in foster care, 8 in residential care and 52 in kinship care. Of the 103 children, 35 were <6 years of age, 51 between 6 and 13 years and 17 between 13 and 18 years; 66% were identified as having mental health problems, 37% hearing problems, 34% vision problems, 40% dental caries and 46% developmental delay including 36% with speech delay. Conclusions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in OOHC seen by the paediatric service at VAHS have high rates of physical, developmental and psychological health needs. These data have significant potential to inform government policy and investment in effective models of care to better meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in OOHC.

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The Needs of Foster Children and How to Satisfy Them: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Steenbakkers

Steen

Grietens

2017

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

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Family foster care deeply influences the needs of children and how these are satisfied. To increase our knowledge of foster children’s needs and how these are conceptualized, this paper presents a systematic literature review. Sixty-four empirical articles from six databases were reviewed and categorized (inter-rater agreement K = .78) into four categories: medical, belongingness, psychological and self-actualization needs. The results give a complete overview of needs that are specific to foster children, and what can be implemented to satisfy these needs. This study shows psychological needs are studied more often compared to the other categories, which specially relates to much attention for mental health problems. Furthermore, most articles focus on how to satisfy the needs of foster children and provide no definition or concrete conceptualization of needs. Strikingly, many articles focus on children’s problems instead of their needs, and some even use these terms interchangeably. This review illustrates that future research should employ a proper conceptualization of needs, which could also initiate a shift in thinking about needs instead of problems.

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Health of Australian children in out‐of‐home care: Needs and carer recognition

Cited by 28 publications

References 7 publications

Health needs and timeliness of assessment of Victorian children entering out‐of‐home care: An audit of a multidisciplinary assessment clinic

Health needs and timeliness of assessment of Victorian children entering out‐of‐home care: An audit of a multidisciplinary assessment clinic

The health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out‐of‐home care

The Needs of Foster Children and How to Satisfy Them: A Systematic Review of the Literature

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