Suspected child abuse: Communicating with a child and her mother

Determining the skills for child protection practice: emerging from the quagmire!

“…However, little other sound evidence of skills required for this important relationship was found. One study that did attempt to address the issue was Reid and Long's (2002) analysis of role play in the use of communication skills with children thought to be at risk of abuse, highlighting disparate themes such as confl ict, embarrassment and 'entering the child's mind'.…”

Commentary on Tingberg B, Bredlöv B & Ygge B‐M (2008) Nurses’ experience in clinical encounters with children experiencing abuse and their parents. Journal of Clinical Nursing 17, 2718–2724

“…This also reflects the situation in the UK where research has indicated that health professionals are not confident of their ability to detect child abuse accurately (Russell et al. 2004) and may be reluctant to act on their suspicions for fear of harming their therapeutic relationship with the child and family (Reid & Long 2002). A study conducted by Fagan (1998) into the role of accident and emergency nurses in cases of suspected child abuse revealed that many nurses did not feel skilled in dealing with such cases.…”

Screening for Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Recommendation Statement

“…False-positive tests, most common in lowrisk populations, may compromise the clinician-patient relationship. 36 Additional possible harms of screening may include loss of contact with established support systems, psychological distress, and an escalation of abuse. 37 However, none of these potential harms has been studied.…”