Randomized Prospective Study to Evaluate Child Abuse Documentation in the Emergency Department

Objectives: The objective was to determine whether an educational intervention for health care providers would result in improved documentation of cases of possible physical child abuse in children 0.2 in independent tests, indicating no evidence of significant change in documentation after the intervention. Even among the 26 charts in which the possibility of physical abuse was noted, documentation remained variable. Conclusions: The educational interventions studied did not improve ED documentation of cases of possible physical child abuse. The need for improved health care provider education in child abuse identification and documentation remains. Future innovative educational studies to improve recognition of abuse are warranted. Language: en