OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and trends of injury among hospitalized child abuse children younger than 18 years between 1997 and 2009. METHODS: We selected hospitalized child abuse cases from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) Database in accordance with ICD-9-CM 995.5x or E967.x. RESULTS: There were 1,212 victims of hospitalized child abuse during the research period, including 735 boys and 477 girls. The victims were most frequently inflicted by the father or stepfather, and the most common injury was intracranial damage; besides, the victims most commonly sought treatment in medical centers. Infants younger than 1 year accounted for the highest percentage of hospitalized victims. Although there were no apparent trends in the overall hospitalization rate of the child abuse victims over the 13-year period, the rate of abuse among girls increased gradually over the years. CONCLUSIONS: The medical staff in hospitals should provide appropriate treatment to the victims and contact relevant organizations to intervene; moreover, government agencies should formulate effective control measures to develop a safe growth environment for children.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and trends of injury among hospitalized child abuse children younger than 18 years between 1997 and 2009. METHODS: We selected hospitalized child abuse cases from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) Database in accordance with ICD-9-CM 995.5x or E967.x. RESULTS: There were 1,212 victims of hospitalized child abuse during the research period, including 735 boys and 477 girls. The victims were most frequently inflicted by the father or stepfather, and the most common injury was intracranial damage; besides, the victims most commonly sought treatment in medical centers. Infants younger than 1 year accounted for the highest percentage of hospitalized victims. Although there were no apparent trends in the overall hospitalization rate of the child abuse victims over the 13-year period, the rate of abuse among girls increased gradually over the years. CONCLUSIONS: The medical staff in hospitals should provide appropriate treatment to the victims and contact relevant organizations to intervene; moreover, government agencies should formulate effective control measures to develop a safe growth environment for children.