The characteristics of children referred to a child protection team in Japan and factors associated with decision-making: A retrospective study using a medical database

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2022-12, Vol.134, p.105867-105867, Article 105867
• Main Authors: Yamaguchi, Arisa, Niimura, Michi, Sonehara, Harumi, Sekido, Yuki, Kishimoto, Makiko, Tachibana, Yoshiyuki, Takehara, Kenji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child Abuse; Child Abuse - psychology; Child protection team; Child Safety; Child welfare; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Cross-Sectional Studies; Decision making; Demography; Developmental disabilities; Disability; Efficacy; Familial factors; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Injuries; Intimate partner violence; Intimate Partner Violence - psychology; Japan - epidemiology; Medical decision making; Medical diagnosis; Medical records; Medicine; Multidisciplinary team; Multidisciplinary teams; Parents & parenting; Pediatrics; Protection; Relatives; Retrospective Studies; Risk factors; Substantiation
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105867

Despite the potential efficacy of hospital-based multidisciplinary child protection team (CPTs), research analyzing Japanese CPT databases is scarce. We aimed to describe the characteristics of children and families reported to a CPT in Japan and investigate factors associated with the substantiation of maltreatment. This retrospective, cross-sectional study took place in a national children's hospital in Japan and included 350 children who were reported to CPTs between April 2014 and March 2018. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted using the CPT database and medical records. Among 350 cases, 33.4 % were substantiated. Children of