Hospitals more likely to report suspected child abuse for Black children: Study

Becker's Healthcare December 19, 2024
Paige Twenter

Mandated reporters at hospitals are more likely to suspect Black pediatric patients of abuse than white patients, according to a study published Dec. 18 in JAMA.

Physical abuse affects 9 out of 1,000 children and adolescents each year, according to previous research cited by the study. Child abuse is a leading cause of childhood injury and death, but researchers from Stanford (Calif.) University’s School of Medicine say accurate detection is difficult.

The researchers set out to examine whether there are racial and ethnic disparities in suspicion for child abuse in pediatric patients admitted for a traumatic injury. From a dataset of more than 630,000 pediatric patients admitted to a hospital between 2006 and 2019, 13,579 had injuries attributed...

Today's Sponsors

Today's Sponsor