Online Program

335863
Maltreatment in children with specific birth defects: A population-based study, Texas, 2002-2011


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Bethanie Van Horne, DrPH, Children's Learning Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX
Children with disabilities are at an increased risk for maltreatment. However, the risk of maltreatment is unknown for children with specific types of birth defects. This study was conducted to determine whether the risk and predictors of maltreatment differ between children with and without three birth defects: Down syndrome, cleft lip with/without cleft palate (CLP), and spina bifida.

This is a population-based study of substantiated childhood maltreatment in Texas, 2002-2011. Linked data were used to describe the risk and types of maltreatment in children with and without specific birth defects. Separate analyses were completed based on the age of the child at the first substantiated maltreatment report (reports before the age two  and reports occurring between ages 2-10). Poisson regression was used to identify predictors of maltreatment and to assess differences in those predictors between children with and without specific birth defects.

Results suggest that the risk of maltreatment varies by maltreatment type, birth defect, and age of the child. After adjusting for birth-level factors, children with Down syndrome were at increased risk of maltreatment after age 2. Children with CLP were at an increased risk for maltreatment throughout the first 10 years of life, whereas children with spina bifida were significantly more likely to be maltreated in the first 2 years of life. All three birth defect groups were significantly more likely to have a substantiated report of medical neglect as compared to children without birth defects.  The risk factors associated with increased risk were similar across groups.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Define child maltreatment and why it is a public health problem List risk factors of maltreatment using ecological model Articulate disparities in substantiated child maltreatment Discuss potential reasons child with different disabilities might be at an risk for maltreatment Identify period during which children with specific birth defects are most at risk for maltreatment Discuss possible interventions and policies that could impact maltreatment in children with specific birth defects

Keyword(s): Birth Defects, Child Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For more than a decade I have been working in the maternal and child health arena, focusing mostly on parenting, early childhood education, and child maltreatment research and prevention. This study was conducted for my dissertation and was supported by national birth defects and child maltreatment experts.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.