Child Protection

Question 1

What is safeguarding children?

Answer 1

Measures taken to minimise risks of harm to children:

• Protection from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of health or development
• Ensuring children are in a safe and caring environment

Question 2

What is article 19?

Answer 2

Children should be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect, exploitation

Question 3

What is article 24>?

Answer 3

Children have right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehab of health

Question 4

What does the government urge regarding children?

Answer 4

Prevent abuse and neglect
Improving multiagency working
Encouraging early intervention

Question 5

What signs should be recognised and how?

Answer 5

Examine head and neck and record findings
Untreated dental decay may be neglect
Often treat more than one family member and attend regularly

Question 6

Define physical abuse

Answer 6

Hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning, physical hard to child
Induced illness

Question 7

How to recognise physical abuse?

Answer 7

Bruising, abrasions, lacerations, eye injuries, bite marks, intra-oral injuries
Site, size, patterns
Delay in presentation
Does not fit the explanation given

Question 8

Features of bruises that suggest abuse?

Answer 8

In non-mobile infants
Over soft tissue areas
Carry an imprint of an implement
Large, multiple and in clusters

Question 9

List the types of burns

Answer 9

Accidental scalds
Intentional scalds
Accidental burns
Intentional contact burns frequently multiple

Question 10

Differential diagnosis - when a real issue if misdiagnosed with abuse?

Answer 10

Birth marks
Infections e.g. scabies, impetigo
Unintentional injury
Bleeding disorders
Osteogenesis imperfecta

Question 11

How can oral injuries present?

Answer 11

Accidental injuries are common
Lips - most common site of oral injury abuse
In non-mobile baby = concern
Torn labial frenum = blow to face

Question 12

Define sexual abuse

Answer 12

Forcing or enticing a child
or young person to take
part in sexual activities,
including prostitution,
whether or not the child
is aware of what is
happening

Question 13

How to recognise sexual abuse?

Answer 13

direct allegation (disclosure)
 sexually transmitted
infection
 pregnancy
 emotional and behavioural signs e.g. anxiety and depression, self-harm, drug, solvent or alcohol abuse

Question 14

Define emotional abuse

Answer 14

persistent emotional
maltreatment of a
child such as to
cause severe and
persistent adverse
effects on the child’s
emotional
development

Question 15

How to recognise emotional abuse?

Answer 15

poor growth
 developmental delay
 educational failure
 social immaturity
 aggression or indiscriminate
friendliness
 challenging behaviour
 attention difficulties
 concerning parent-child
interaction

Question 16

Define neglect

Answer 16

 the persistent failure to
meet a child’s basic
physical and/or
psychological needs,
likely to result in the
serious impairment of
the child’s health or
development
 includes failing to ensure
access to appropriate
medical care or
treatment

Question 17

How to recognise neglect

Answer 17

failure to thrive
 short stature
 inappropriate clothing
 frequent injuries
 ingrained dirt
 developmental delay
 withdrawn or attention
seeking behaviour

Question 18

What are the short term and long term impacts of neglect?

Answer 18

Short term:
Emotional health
Social development
Cognitive development
Physical health

Long term:
Arrest
Suicide attempts
Depression
Diabetes
Heart disease

Question 19

Impact of dental disease?

Answer 19

toothache
 crying and stopping playing
 disturbed sleep
 difficulty eating or change in food preferences
 absence from school
 repeated antibiotics
 dental general anaesthesia
 lower body-weight, growth and quality of life
 poor dental appearance
 severe infection

Question 20

Define dental neglect

Answer 20

the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic

oral health needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of a child’s oral or general health or development

Question 21

When assessing the pt, what are the features of concern?

Answer 21

obvious dental disease
 impact on the child
 acceptable care has
been offered, yet the
child is not receiving
treatment

Question 22

What groups of people are vulnerable: parental risk factors, social risk factors and child risk factors?

Answer 22

Parental:
young parents
 single parents
 mental health problems
 parents with learning difficulties
 alcohol and drug abuse

Social:
 poverty
 social isolation
 poor housing
 family violence
 asylum seekers and refugees
 homeless families

Child:
 babies and toddlers – physical abuse / neglect
 older children – sexual abuse
 children with disabilities
 children with behavioural problems
 children looked after in residential or foster
care
 children missing from education

Question 23

How to recognise abuse?

Answer 23

Direct allegations
Physical signs
Pointers in the history
Parent-child interactions
The wider picture