Citation

Mullen JE. AACN Adv. Crit. Care 2023; 34(3): 240-245.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.4037/aacnacc2023779

PMID

37644630

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem. Even as I sit contemplating this column, there are 2 local news stories unfolding about children allegedly injured by their caregivers. These stories and others like them often do not have happy endings. The personal, legal, and societal effects of child abuse are serious and long-lasting. In fact, in the US federal fiscal year 2020, 1750 children died as a result of abuse and neglect.1

Nurses are among those professionals required to report known or suspected instances of child abuse and neglect. Whether they work directly with children or come into contact with them only through association with adult patients, nurses are uniquely positioned to observe or act on child maltreatment concerns. This column presents several vignettes with corresponding questions to give readers an opportunity to identify some abusive injury patterns, practice differentiating between accidental and inflicted injuries, and identify red flags that...

Language: en