Characteristics of child abuse fatalities: Insights from a statewide violent death reporting system

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the capability of multi-source state-level data to enrich our understanding of child abuse fatalities. Employing the narrative review method in other states using the National Violent Death Reporting System may increase the identification of abuse fatalities. Improved recognition and characterization of abuse fatalities has the potential to help address systemic factors involved and enhance targeted prevention efforts.WHAT IS KNOWN: Child abuse fatalities represent a significant and preventable public health issue in the United States. Case-specific characteristics are limited in national data sets, and their absence curtails prevention opportunities.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: State-wide reporting systems of violent deaths offer rich and multisource data regarding child abuse fatalities including detailed victim, suspect, circumstance, and household characteristics. This data can be used to enhance our knowledge of maltreatment fatalities and may inform region-specific public health and prevention initiatives.PMID:38295604 | DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106649
Source: Child Abuse and Neglect - Category: Child Development Authors: Source Type: research