Assessment for Abuse

1 Assessment for Abuse Child abuse can be described as the neglect, emotional, physical, sexual, and psychological maltreatment of a child (Dixon et al., 2017). In most cases, maltreatment is perpetrated by a caregiver or the parent. Children, who are exposed to maltreatment, are likely to suffer from a range of health problems, including the inability to pay attention, low self-esteem and poor emotional health (Westman, 2019). Nurses carry out a comprehensive assessment of the social and health history of a child suspected to have been abused. Since this assessment may generate a range of emotions, the nurse must apply strategies that do not expose the child to the risk of greater psychological and physical harm (Daro et al., 2015).

Assessment strategies Several strategies can be applied during an assessment of potential child maltreatment.

One of these strategies is a physical assessment of the child. The physical assessment helps the nurse to identify physical injuries and inflammation that signify potential physical abuse.

Another strategy is a comprehensive family assessment.

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2 This assessment helps to identify and weigh factors that may affect the safety and wellbeing of a child in the family. The family strengths, needs, and resources necessary to sustain the safety of children are identified during this form of assessment. The child also needs to be interviewed by themselves. This strategy helps to exclude potential perpetrators in the rooms thus creating a sense of safety that enables the child to provide clear details about the abuse (Selekman, Shannon & Yonkaitis, 2019).

The impact of exposure to social media on a child Exposure to social media may have a negative impact on the psychological health of a child. Many children cannot deal with the psychological trauma associated with abuse (Daro et al., 2015). It would therefore be detrimental to expose such children to social media. The social media is full of characters that scrutinize and ridicule the feelings, sexual orientations, beliefs, and family background of a person. Children may suffer emotionally since they cannot cope with such ridicule (Westman, 2019).

Reporting cases of abuse Mandatory reporters including nurses, family practitioners, daycare workers, and medical examiners have an obligation to make a report when they suspect a case of child abuse (Dixon et al., 2017). This report should be made to the hospital administration or the law enforcement agency for further investigation.

Conclusion Maltreatment has detrimental effects on the health of a child. Nurses conduct comprehensive family and personal assessment of a child to determine the possibility of child abuse. All suspected abuse cases should be reported to the relevant authority for further investigation and action against the perpetrators.

3 References Daro, D., Donnelly, A. C., Huang, L. A., Powell, B. J. (2015). Advances in Child Abuse Prevention Knowledge: The Perspective of New Leadership. Springer, Dixon, L., Perkins, D. F., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., & Craig, L. A. (2017). The Wiley Handbook of What Works in Child Maltreatment: An Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention in Child Protection. John Wiley & Sons, Selekman, J., Shannon, R.A., & Yonkaitis, C. F. (2019). School Nursing: A Comprehensive Text.

F.A. Davis.

Westman, J. C. (2019). Dealing with Child Abuse and Neglect as Public Health Problems: Prevention and the Role of Juvenile Ageism. Springer.