Child abuse: report of three cases from Khamis Mushayt

Non-Accidental Injuries in Pediatric Primary Care: A Systematic Literature Review of Objective Assessment Tools and Trends in Gulf Cooperation Council Region

Nonaccidental injuries (NAI) in pediatric primary care in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region refer to intentional injuries inflicted on children, usually by a caregiver or a family member. The region has seen an increase in nonaccidental injuries in recent years, and healthcare providers have a crucial role in identifying and managing the cases. The aim of research on nonaccidental injuries in pediatric primary care in the GCC region is to identify objective assessment tools and evaluate trends in the region. PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE databases were searched using search string keywords. The search was conducted on 7^th February 2023. The keywords included in the search included the search terms: nonaccidental injuries, pediatric, and GCC. All the studies were published between 1990 and 2023. The articles that passed the eligibility criteria were read fully to examine whether they would be relevant to the current systematic literature review. An initial search identified 3059 studies (Google Scholar = 6, EMBASE =12, PubMed = 4732). After the deletion of similar articles, only 3613 articles were left for further screening. The abstracts and titles of the left articles were scanned and screened to decide whether they were included in this systematic review. After deletion, 16 papers were inspected and read fully based on predefined eligibility criteria. Eventually, 11 papers were recognized and identified that passed the eligibility criteria of this systematic review. The studies reviewed in this analysis highlight the significant problem of child abuse in the GCC region, particularly neglect as the most common form of abuse. The studies also suggest that parents are the most frequent perpetrators of abuse. The need for policies and interventions to prevent child abuse and support victims is paramount.

Physical Child Abuse by Parents and Teachers in Saudi Arabia: a Systematic Literature Review

A systematic review was conducted to find out what is known about the prevalence and nature of physical child abuse in Saudi. The review identified 15 abuse prevalence studies carried out in Saudi Arabia between 1998 and 2016, written in English or Arabic. An analysis of these revealed the known prevalence of different types of child abuse, the relationship of the abuser to the victim, and the level of awareness among school professionals of procedures and programs in Saudi to protect children from abuse. The review revealed many shortcomings of existing literature, including a paucity of published studies, lack of rigor in research design, an absence of data from many parts of the country, and an emphasis on hospital reports rather than data collected directly from victims. Studies conducted to date suggest that physical abuse of children is more widespread and severe in the Kingdom than previously acknowledged.

Preventing child abuse and neglect in Saudi Arabia: are we ready?

Although child abuse and neglect (CAN) have been recognized by medical professionals for the last 20 years, child protection services and child maltreatment prevention programs are still emerging in Saudi Arabia. This paper will review the progress made in the country in terms of recognition and implementation of child protection services. Furthermore, it will draw attention to the essential steps required to start child maltreatment prevention programs, as CAN prevention is currently viewed as a global healthcare priority with an emphasis on evidence-based interventions. In addition, this paper will assess Saudi Arabia's readiness to prevent CAN and the challenges that will be faced by the professionals in implementing evidence-based CAN prevention programs.

Child abuse and neglect in Saudi Arabia: journey of recognition to implementation of national prevention strategies

OBJECTIVES

To describe increased child abuse and neglect (CAN) reporting and the characteristics of the reports in the context of the development of a system of intervention for one of the hospital-based child protection centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Article 19.

METHODS

A retroprospective collection of data on all children evaluated by the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team in King Abdulaziz Medical City for the National Guard from 2000 to 2008. The cases were further divided into 3 subgroups corresponding to the years 2000-2004, 2005-2006, and 2007-2008 parallel to the stages of development of the national child protection system.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were a total of 188 referrals to the SCAN team. Of these 133 (70.7%) were further investigated as CAN cases. The total number of referred cases increased 10-fold from 6.4 cases per year in the first period to 61.5 cases per year in the third period. The mean age was 5 years, evenly represented by males and females. Physical abuse was the most common form of abuse in the first (2000-2004) period at 61% and second (2005-2006) period at 76%, which changed to neglect (41.6%) as the most common form of maltreatment in the third (2007-2008) period. Parents were the perpetrators in 48.9% of cases throughout the 3 periods. Overall fatality rates were 4.4%, 14.3%, and 7.9% in the first, second, and third periods respectively.

CONCLUSION

Recognition of CAN is expanding in Saudi Arabia. This is due to the successful adoption of a system of intervention consisting of child protection centers in the medical facilities, in conjunction with mandatory reporting and data collection strategies. In addition, the changes in public attitudes towards a better understanding of CAN enhanced further recognition and reporting of neglect and milder forms of abuse. We believe that the number of reported CAN cases in Saudi Arabia will continue to rise, hence adequate multi-sectoral services for the abuse victims require further development and improvements throughout the country.