Signs of physical violence against a child: recognition and organizational measures

The severity and urgency of the problem necessitates timely detection of cases of physical violence against children due to the frequency and high risk of negative consequences. Purpose - to provide an organizational framework for improving the quality of diagnosis of physical violence against children in accordance with international standards based on available evidence. Materials and methods. Practical guidelines for reviewing and establishing suspicion of child abuse are provided in accordance with the clinical guidelines of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2019), the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC, 2019), and information from the Up to Date and PubMed databases. The recommendations are based on the data of the World Health Organization and the current legal and regulatory framework in Ukraine. Results. Clinical guidelines and scientific literature related to the study of physical abuse, in particular, early signs of its detection, are reviewed and analyzed. The main stages of the examination of children with suspected physical abuse are presented, the levels of concern are described with recommendations for consideration or suspicion. The issue of early detection of signs and factors that indicate the likelihood of risks to the child's health and development that require immediate response from healthcare professionals is highlighted. Special attention is paid to the problem of medical care in Ukraine for children who have already suffered from physical violence. Conclusions. A well-founded approach to defining the nature, types and signs of physical violence is an extremely important issue, as it allows for timely recognition of the situation, proposals for effective elimination of the identified problems and prevention of negative consequences. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.