Citation

Simonton K, Fingarson A. Clin. Pediatr. Emerg. Med. 2020; 21(3): e100800.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.cpem.2020.100800

PMID

36570484

PMCID

PMC9759837

Abstract

Our society is in the midst of several public health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated educational, social, and economic fallout are a primary concern. Additionally, our country is battling structural racism, an opioid epidemic, and ongoing health effects of natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. Those we serve, including impoverished or otherwise vulnerable children, are often disproportionately impacted by these crises.1 Consequences can include infections, disparities, intoxication, displacement, and countless other issues that may present to medical teams. Conversely, the manifestations of local or global crises may be silence. Silence in the form of fewer emergency department (ED) visits, missed well-child care appointments, delayed immunizations, and hidden traumas undetectable during a medical assessment.2 Reported cases of maltreatment to child protective service agencies decreased dramatically at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrating how this particular crisis is masking an already under-detected problem.3,4 In the face of this silence, we are called to be more vigilant. Each clinical encounter can be an opportunity to acknowledge the crises we are all experiencing and recognize the hidden consequences, including child maltreatment.

This issue of Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine broadly covers topics related to child abuse and neglect, heightened in the context of our national crises. The potential impact of COVID-19 on child abuse and neglect is discussed. While much remains unknown, inferences can be made based on what has been learned from prior economic, infectious, and environmental crises.

Language: en