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Cited by 195Child Abuse and Related TraumaChild Abuse and TraumaHomicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse

Increased proportion of physical child abuse injuries at a level I pediatric trauma center during the covid-19 pandemic.

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Kovler, Mark L., Ziegfeld, Susan, Ryan, Leticia M., Goldstein, Mitchell A., Gardner, Rebecca, Garcia, Alejandro V., Nasr, Isam W.·2021·Child Abuse & Neglect
DOI 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104756PMC PMC7518108
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Abstract

Background and objectives The Covid-19 pandemic has forced mass closures of childcare facilities and schools. While these measures are necessary to slow virus transmission, little is known regarding the secondary health consequences of social distancing. The purpose of this study is to assess the proportion of injuries secondary to physical child abuse (PCA) at a level I pediatric trauma center during the Covid-19 pandemic.Methods A retrospective review of patients at our center was conducted to identify injuries caused by PCA in the month following the statewide closure of childcare facilities in Maryland. The proportion of PCA patients treated during the Covid-19 era were compared to the corresponding period in the preceding two years by Fisher's exact test. Demographics, injury profiles, and outcomes were described for each period.Results Eight patients with PCA injuries were treated during the Covid-19 period (13 % of total trauma patients), compared to four in 2019 (4 %, p < 0.05) and three in 2018 (3 %, p < 0.05). The median age of patients in the Covid-19 period was 11.5 months (IQR 6.8-24.5). Most patients were black (75 %) with public health insurance (75 %). All injuries were caused by blunt trauma, resulting in scalp/face contusions (63 %), skull fractures (50 %), intracranial hemorrhage (38 %), and long bone fractures (25 %).Conclusions There was an increase in the proportion of traumatic injuries caused by physical child abuse at our center during the Covid-19 pandemic. Strategies to mitigate this secondary effect of social distancing should be thoughtfully implemented.

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  • MAP Training may lessen the risk and thus help prevent secondary traumatic stress and associated distress among teachers who may have been exposed to student trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Therefore, MAP Training may lessen the risk and thus help prevent secondary traumatic stress and associated distress among teachers who may have been exposed to student trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., Collin-Vézina et al., 2020; Kovler et al., 2021).”

    From Mental and physical training with meditation and aerobic exercise improved mental health and well-being in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) · cites this paper as Kovler et al., 2021

    The Discussion reports increased physical child abuse injuries during COVID-19 and says educational personnel are among those who recognize and report child maltreatment. This supports the context for possible teacher exposure to student trauma, but the paper does not address teachers’ secondary traumatic stress or whether MAP Training prevents it. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Authors
Kovler, M. L., Ziegfeld, S., Ryan, L. M., Goldstein, M. A., Gardner, R., Garcia, A. V., & Nasr, I. W.
Affiliations
Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Kovler, Mark L.
ORCID
Venue
Child Abuse & Neglect
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-06
Volume
116
Issue
Pt 2
Pages
104756
ISSN
0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104756
PMC
PMC7518108
OpenAlex
W3089274758
Cited by
195
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 68 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 1
FWCI
36.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Child Abuse and Related Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
Keywords
child physical abuse, COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, blunt trauma, skull fracture, intracranial hemorrhage, long bone fractures, pediatric trauma, racial disparities, public health insurance
MeSH terms
Physical Abuse, Physical Distancing, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Child Abuse, Child, Preschool, Female, Craniocerebral Trauma, Humans, Infant, Male, Retrospective Studies, Skull Fractures, Trauma Centers, Pandemics

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