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A Conceptual and Epidemiological Framework for Child Maltreatment Surveillance


Prepared by:

Davide A.Wolfe PhD and Lilian Yuan MD MSc

Child Maltreatment Section
Division of Health Surveillance and Epidemiology
Health Canada HPB Bldg. #7, Tunney's Pasture
A.L. 0701D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0L2

Editors Lil Tonmyr and Gordon Phaneuf
Publication Consultant: Janet Doherty


A Conceptual and Epidemiological Framework for Child Maltreatment Surveillance

Child Maltreatment Division
Conceptual and Epidemiological
framework for child maltreatment surveillance
Ottawa
Minister of Public work and Government services
Health Canada
2001

87 Pages - (773 KB) in PDF Format PDF


Table of Contents

Reviewers and Stakeholders

Forum on Child Maltreatment Surveillance: Issues and Options - December 14, 1999
Participants List

1 Conceptual Framework for Child Maltreatment Surveillance

  • Introduction And Purpose
    • The Importance of Surveillance
    • Purpose of the Conceptual Framework
  • Definitions Of Child Maltreatment
    • Legal, Social Science and Child Welfare Perspectives
  • Epidemiology
    • Incidence and Prevalence Studies
      • United States
      • Canada and Australia
    • Reporting Issues
    • Demographic and Situational Findings
      • Children
      • Adult and Juvenile Offenders
      • Circumstances and Outcomes
  • Theoretical Contributions
    • Causes of Maltreatment
      • Offender Characteristics
      • The Context of Maltreatment
    • Consequences of Maltreatment
      • Developmental Psychopathology
      • Theories of Stress and Resilience
  • Conceptual Framework For Child Maltreatment Surveillance
    • Organization and Approach
      • Selected Key Determinants of Population Health
      • Levels of Action
    • Income and Social Status
      • Community Level
      • Societal/Cultural Level
    • Social Support Network
      • Community Level
    • Education 
      • Community Level 
      • Societal/Cultural Level 
    • Physical Environment
      • Community Level
    • Personal Adjustment and Coping Resources
      • Individual Level: Child Victim
      • Individual Level: Adult Offender
    • Child Development
      • Individual Level: Adult Offender
      • Family Level
      • Community Level
      • Societal/Cultural Level
  • Analysis
    • Development of a National Capacity for Child Maltreatment Surveillance
      • Priorities, Partners, and Resources
      • Things to Consider
    • Implications of Child Maltreatment Surveillance
      • Public Policy and Public Health
      • Prevention
  • References

2 Epidemiological Framework for Child Maltreatment Surveillance

  • Introduction
  • Background: Public Health Surveillance
  • Characteristics Of Surveillance Systems
    1. Usefulness
    2. Simplicity
    3. Flexibility
    4. Acceptability
    5. Sensitivity
    6. Specificity
    7. Representativeness
    8. Timeliness
    9. Resources
  • Examples Of Surveillance Systems
    • Infectious Disease Surveillance
    • Injury Surveillance
    • Principles Applicable to Other Systems
      1. Be Selective in Conditions for Surveillance
      2. Ensure Effective Communication with Collaborators
      3. Build Surveillance Systems in Stages
      4. Make Ongoing Improvements and Upgrades
  • Child Maltreatment Data
    • Variability in Child Abuse and Neglect Definitions
    • Different Levels of Identification of Child Abuse and Neglect
    • Multiple Forms of Child Maltreatment
      • Incidence and Prevalence
      • Duplicate Cases
      • Variability of Available Information
  • Functional And Operational Issues
    • Collaborative Partnerships
    • Setting Objectives
    • Case Definitions
    • Existing Data Sources
      1. Child Welfare Databases
      2. Statistics Canada Mortality Database
      3. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Database
      4. Police Statistics
      5. Chief Medical Examiner/Chief Coroner Statistics
      6. Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglec
      7. Population Survey
      8. Hospital Morbidity Database and Discharge Abstract Database
    • What is the Population Under Surveillance?
    • Frequency of Data Collection and Dissemination
    • Data Variables
      1. Characteristics of the child
      2. Maltreatment circumstance
      3. Characteristics of the alleged perpetrator(s)
      4. Characteristics of caregiver(s)
      5. Characteristics of household
    • Data Transfer and Privacy
    • Data Storage, Analysis and Dissemination
  • Other Issues
    • Integration with Health Canada's Surveillance Activities
    • Surveillance of Risk Indicators Associated with Child Maltreatment 
      • Individual/Family Level
      • Community Level
    • Surveillance of Behavioural Indicators Associated with Child Maltreatment
    • Unreported Cases
    • Cultural Relevance
  • Methodology Issues
    • Underestimation of Cases
    • Biases
    • Duplicate Records
    • Choice of Denominators
  • Summary
  • References
List of Tables and Figures
  • Figure 1 - Scope of Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Figure 2 - Demographic and Situational Factors
  • Figure 3 - Conceptual Framework Overview
  • Figure 4 - Income and Social Status
  • Figure 5 - Social Support
  • Figure 6 - Education
  • Figure 7 - Physical Environment
  • Figure 8 - Personal Adjustment and Coping Resources
  • Figure 9 - Child Development
  • Table 1 - Priorities for Key Variables in the Conceptual Framework, with Examples of Partnerships
  • Table 2 - Canadian Child Maltreatment Data Sources

A Conceptual and Epidemiological Framework for Child Maltreatment Surveillance  PDF

87 Pages - (773 KB) in PDF Format