Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32252723›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2020

The link between hearing impairment and child maltreatment among Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory of Australia: is there an opportunity for a public health approach in child protection?

Vincent Yaofeng He, Steven Guthridge, Jiunn-Yih Su, Damien Howard, Kylie Stothers, Amanda Leach

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

6citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

A workforce enhancement model for Australian remote community Primary Health Care services: implementation of a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial (SW-CRT).BMC health services research · 2026
Trial
Otitis media outcomes of a combined 10-valent pneumococcal Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedule at 1-2-4-6 months: PREVIX_COMBO, a 3-arm randomised controlled trial.BMC pediatrics · 2021
Trial
An evaluation of the quality of ear health services for Aboriginal children living in remote Australia: a cascade of care analysis.BMC health services research · 2023
Article
The Daalbirrwirr Gamambigu (Safe Children) Model: Embedding Cultural Safety in Child Protection Responses for Australian Aboriginal Children in Hospital Settings.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
Review
INFLATE: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing nasal balloon autoinflation to no nasal balloon autoinflation for otitis media with effusion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.Trials · 2022
Article
A community-based service enhancement model of training and employing Ear Health Facilitators to address the crisis in ear and hearing health of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory, the Hearing for Learning Initiative (the HfLI): study protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial.Trials · 2021
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Vincent Yaofeng HeMenzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0811, Australia. vincent.He@menzies.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7614-345X

Steven GuthridgeMenzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0811, Australia.

Jiunn-Yih SuMenzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0811, Australia.

Damien HowardPhoenix Consulting, Nightcliff, Northern Territory, 0810, Australia.

Kylie StothersIndigenous Allied Health Australia, Katherine, Northern Territory, 0850, Australia.

Amanda LeachMenzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0811, Australia.

Funding

Department of Attorney-General and Justice, Northern Territory Government (NT) CYDRPDepartment of Education, Northern Territory Government (NT) CYDRPDepartment of Health, Northern Territory Government (NT) CDYRPDepartment of Territory Families, Northern Territory Government (NT)) CYDRPDepartment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet LinTAG

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInternational studies provide evidence of an association between child disabilities, including hearing impairment (HI), and child maltreatment. There are high prevalences of ear disease with associated HI, and child maltreatment among Australian Aboriginal children, but the link between HI and child maltreatment is unknown. This study investigates the association between HI and child maltreatment for Aboriginal children living in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia.

methodsThis was a retrospective cohort study of 3895 Aboriginal school-aged children (born between 1999 and 2008) living in remote NT communities. The study used linked individual-level information from health, education and child protection services. The outcome variables were child maltreatment notifications and substantiations. The key explanatory variable, HI, was based on audiometric assessment. The Kaplan-Meier estimator method was used in univariate analysis; Cox proportional hazards regression was used in multivariable analysis.

resultsA majority of the study cohort lived in very remote (94.5%) and most disadvantaged (93.1%) regions. Among all children in the study cohort, 56.1% had a record of either HI or unilateral hearing loss (UHL), and for those with a history of contact with child protection services (n = 2757), 56.7% had a record of HI/UHL (n = 1564). In the 1999-2003 birth cohort, by age 12 years, 53.5% of children with a record of moderate or worse HI had at least one maltreatment notification, compared to 47.3% of children with normal hearing. In the 2004-2008 cohort, the corresponding results were 83.4 and 71.7% respectively. In multivariable analysis, using the full cohort, children with moderate or worse HI had higher risk of any child maltreatment notification (adjusted Hazard Ratios (adjHR): 1.16, 95% CI:1.04-1.30), notification for neglect (adjHR:1.17, 95% CI:1.04-1.31) and substantiation (adjHR:1.20, 95% CI:1.04-1.40), than children with normal hearing. In the 2004-2008 birth cohort, children with moderate or worse HI had higher risk of a substantiated episode of physical abuse (adjHR:1.47, 95% CI:1.07-2.03) than children with normal hearing.

conclusionOur findings demonstrate the urgent need for HI and child maltreatment prevention strategies through raised community awareness and inter-agency collaboration. Effective information-sharing between service providers is a critical first step to a public health approach in child protection.

Indexed as

ChildChild AbuseChild, PreschoolChild Protective ServicesFemaleHearing LossHumansMaleNorthern TerritoryPhysical AbusePrevalenceRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsAboriginal childrenChild abuse and neglectChild maltreatmentData-linkageHearing impairmentHearing lossIndigenous healthRemote communities

Identifiers

PMID32252723

DOI10.1186/s12889-020-8456-8

PMCPMC7132974

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.