ED visits for child abuse, neglect decrease during pandemic as hospitalizations rise
Although ED visits related to child abuse and neglect decreased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of those visits requiring hospitalization increased compared with the previous year, according to researchers.
“The pandemic has affected health care-seeking patterns for child abuse and neglect, raising concerns that victims might not have received care and that severity of injuries remained stable or worsened,” they wrote in MMWR.
Elizabeth Swedo, MD, a pediatrician in the Division of Violence Prevention at the CDC, and colleagues used data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program to examine trends in ED visits related to child abuse and neglect.
From March 31 to April 27, 2020, the number of ED visits related to abuse and neglect among those aged younger than 18 years decreased by 53% compared with approximately the same 4-week period in 2019. The sharpest decrease in ED visits — 61% — occurred among those aged 5 to 11 years.
“The 53% decrease in ED visits related to child abuse and neglect in children and adolescents in early 2020 compared with the number of visits in early 2019 mirrors trends reported for all ED visits in children and adolescents, indicating that parents and caregivers may have been hesitant to seek emergency care in the early pandemic period,” Swedo told Healio.
Despite the lower rates of ED visits, hospitalization rates did not decline, the researchers said.
In fact, the rates of hospitalizations increased significantly among all children and adolescents aged younger than 18 years, according to the researchers. In 2019, the total rate was 2.1% across all age groups, whereas in 2020, the rate was 3.2%.
Specifically, the rates in 2019 compared with 2020 were 3.5% vs. 5.3% among children aged 0 to 4 years; 0.7% vs. 1.3% among children aged 5 to 11 years; and 1.6% vs. 2.2% among children aged 12 to 17 years.
“Implementation of child abuse and neglect prevention strategies is critical, particularly during public health emergencies,” Swedo said. “Child abuse and neglect [are] preventable using evidence-based strategies, such as strengthening families’ economic supports, ensuring family-friendly work policies, and using virtual early home visitation practices by child protection agencies.”