Are we back to normal? Evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on referrals to a child protection service in a tertiary care centre in Vienna, Austria.

Fiche publication

Date publication

septembre 2026

Journal

BMJ paediatrics open

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr QUANTIN Catherine

Tous les auteurs :
Grylli C, Klomfar S, Brandlechner J, Schaller L, Weimann K, Pantazidou A, Mora-Theuer E, Krall C, Quantin C, Greber-Platzer S

Lien Pubmed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42763109

Résumé

Reports worldwide on suspected child maltreatment (CM) during and after the COVID-19 pandemic have been inconsistent. As no study has yet systematically examined whether structural disruptions to child protection systems have left measurable and lasting traces in referral patterns beyond the acute crisis phase, this study investigated the pandemic's impact on suspected CM referrals to the Forensic Examination Center for Children and Adolescents (FOKUS) in Vienna, Austria, and whether enduring shifts in CM presentation and referral dynamics have occurred.