ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2015
Facing suspected child abuse--what keeps Swedish general practitioners from reporting to child protective services?
Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of a computerised guideline support tool on child healthcare professionals' response to suspicions of child abuse and neglect: a community-based intervention trial.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2019Trial
- Anticipated online harassment and potential chilling effects on mandatory child abuse reporting: A pilot survey of pediatricians in Japan.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Article
- Paediatric suspected non-accidental or intentional self-harm injuries diagnosed after an emergency call: a national population-based cohort study from Denmark.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Understanding Vulnerability During Preventive Child Health Examinations: Insights from Danish General Practitioners.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- 'There's a will, but not a way': Norwegian GPs' experiences of collaboration with child welfare services - a grounded theory study.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Management of child maltreatment suspicions in general practice: a mixed methods study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2023Article
- Potential Reporters of Suspected Child Maltreatment are Sensitive to the Amount of Evidence and the Potential Consequences of Reporting.Journal of interpersonal violence · 2023Article
- Challenges in the cross-sectoral collaboration on vulnerable pregnant women: a qualitative study among Danish general practitioners.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- How child health care physicians struggle from gut feelings to managing suspicions of child abuse.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2021Article
- Review
- Article
- GPs' suspicion of child abuse: how does it arise and what is the follow-up?Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2020Article
- Finding the Victim of Abuse: A New Frontier of Physicians' Liability? Data From a Local Italian Experience on Minor Maltreatment.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2020Article
- Implementation of the Dutch expertise centre for child abuse: descriptive data from the first 4 years.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Article
- Struggling with one's own parenting after an upbringing with substance abusing parents.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2018Article
- General practitioners' accounts of how to facilitate consultations with toddlers - an interview study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2017Article
- We Have All Been Working in Our Own Little Silos Forever: Exploring a Cross-Sector Response to Child Maltreatment.Academic pediatricsArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the reporting of suspected child abuse among Swedish general practitioners (GPs), and to investigate factors influencing them in their decision whether or not to report to child protective services (CPS).
designA cross-sectional questionnaire study.
settingPrimary health care centres in western Sweden. SUBJECTS: 177 GPs and GP trainees.
main outcome measuresDemographic and educational background, education on child abuse, attitudes to reporting and CPS, previous experience of reporting suspected child abuse, and need of support.
resultsDespite mandatory reporting, 20% of all physicians had at some point suspected but not reported child abuse. Main reasons for non-reporting were uncertainty about the suspicion and use of alternative strategies; for instance, referral to other health care providers or follow-up of the family by the treating physician. Only 30% of all physicians trusted CPS's methods of investigating and acting in cases of suspected child abuse, and 44% of all physicians would have wanted access to expert consultation. There were no differences in the failure to report suspected child abuse that could be attributed to GP characteristics. However, GPs educated abroad reported less frequently to CPS than GPs educated in Sweden.
conclusionsThis study showed that GPs see a need for support from experts and that the communication and cooperation between GPs and CPS needs to be improved. The low frequency of reporting indicates a need for continued education of GPs and for updated guidelines including practical advice on how to manage child abuse.
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