Survey of practices for documenting evidence of bruises from physical abuse during child protection proceedings

Evans, Sam, Farnell, Damian J. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0662-1927, Carson-Stevens, Andy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7580-7699 and Kemp, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1359-7948 2023. Survey of practices for documenting evidence of bruises from physical abuse during child protection proceedings. BMJ Paediatrics Open 7 (1) , e002047. 10.1136/bmjpo-2023-002047

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Abstract

Accurate recording of forensically important information on bruises is vital in child protection proceedings (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)). An online survey was distributed to the RCPCH child protection committees to assess compliance with guidance. 56 individuals were contacted by email, 47 (84%) completed the survey. Results showed that the paediatricians always or usually record size (n=41; 87%), site (n=45; 96%), shape (n=32; 68%) and colour (n=36; 77%); n=10; 22% of the paediatricians stated that they ‘always’ used a ranking system for likelihood of abuse; n=12; 35% of those surveyed ‘sometimes’ estimated the size of the bruise. Results showed that paediatric bruise reporting is inconsistent and incomplete for some fields compared with national guidance.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Dentistry Medicine
Publisher:	BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN:	2399-9772
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	18 August 2023
Date of Acceptance:	22 June 2023
Last Modified:	04 Jan 2024 08:37
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/161913

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