Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on child protection medical assessments: a retrospective observational study in Birmingham, UK.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine any change in referral patterns and outcomes in children (0-18) referred for child protection medical examination (CPME) during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with previous years.

Design

Retrospective observational study, analysing routinely collected clinical data from CPME reports in a rapid response to the pandemic lockdown.

Setting

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, which provides all routine CPME for Birmingham, England, population 1.1 million including 288 000 children.

Participants

Children aged under 18 years attending CPME during an 18-week period from late February to late June during the years 2018-2020.

Main outcome measures

Numbers of referrals, source of disclosure and outcomes from CPME.

Results

There

SUBMITTER: Garstang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7526028 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature