Child Health

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Browsing Child Health by Subject "The effect of child abuse on child health"

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    The effect of child abuse on child health
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2022-02-09) Molly Koroma Praise Makuluni Talithar Mambo Cecilia, Kanthiti
    This is a quantitative and qualitative cross-section study aimed to explore and estimate the impact of child abuse on child health in Blantyre rural areas. Child abuse have a great impact on child health that affect the development of Malawi as nation in many ways, the study will focus on the estimation of the impact of child abuse on child health and determining the child health problems that emerge due to child abuse. Participant will be selected through convenience and simple random sampling technique and data will be collected in two ways, secondary data on child abuse based on the reported cases at Blantyre district social welfare office and primary data through in-depth interviews with people about child abuse according to the areas that have reported cases. Participant questionnaire will be used to collect social demographic data and the forms of child abuse and their related child health problems. The results will be presented at the research dissemination at the College of Medicine. The results of the study will help to reduce some of the child health problems that occur due to child abuse. This will be through establishment of strong and active institutions and guidance that help to deal with issues of child abuse when they occur and public awareness on the impacts of child health problems that occur due to child abuse and policy enforcement. Child abuse or maltreatment has existed for centuries but societies have been very slow to acknowledge it as a problem. Children and young people are vulnerable and cannot protect themselves. Child abuse is highly prevalent and associated with increased risk for a range of health problems. Some of the problems include cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psychiatric disorders and physical injuries [14]. Child maltreatment or abuse is a significant public health concern given its prevalence and potential impact on health not only during childhood but also later in life [14]. Each year in the United States, approximately three million reports are made to child welfare agencies. These reports only represent the tip of the iceberg, while here in Malawi, statistics at the districts social welfare Office shows that at least 30 cases are recorded every month [13]. Which also represents the tip of the iceberg, this is because most people do not come open in public since this issue is sensitive and some are not aware of what child abuse is [6]. Child abuse is in many forms. These forms are sexual, emotional, physical abuse as well as neglect [1]. Health care providers, especially those assessing patients with mental health problems, need to be aware of the relation between specific types of child abuse and certain mental conditions [10]. Success in preventing child abuse could lead to reductions in the prevalence of mental disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts [12]. 2.0 RATIONALE ”Child abuse in Africa is a major threat to the achievement of the sustainable development goals on the continent and has become increasingly topical with a dramatic increase in recognition and appreciation of the long-term harmful effects on the affected population” [2]. According to Y Madhlopa and J Qin, the occurrence of child abuses causes internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Child maltreatment particularly emotion abuse and neglect, is associated with a wide range of long-term adverse health and developmental outcomes. In agreement with Andrea Danese 2020, child maltreatment affects mental health. Abused children are more likely to have low self-esteem, poorly progress with school, end up in prison, and develop psychological disorders. Child physical maltreatment can lead to brain damage due to trauma leading to failure of the brain to grow properly and normally function. Controlling the act of ill-treating children could prevent the mental health impairment. Two out of every Malawians experience violence in childhood and most acts of physical violence occur in the context of physical punishment [5]. This may be due to different understandings of ways to correct a child. A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study was undertook in urban Malawi and this research’s one of the specific objectives is to understand peoples’ knowledge of child abuse in rural Blantyre [5]. A renewed focus on prevention and early intervention strategies, especially related to psychological maltreatment, will be required to address these challenges in the future. This research will screen child maltreatment risk in Blantyre and the results will motivate improving this problem. Establishing strong institutions and guidance to tackle abuse when it occurs is also both beneficial to the survivors and the community at large. Training primary school teachers and having medical people on schools would encourage children that are being abused to report. Free telephone help-lines would also be useful to report such cases. In that way, the impact of child abuse on child health would be reduced. 3.0 OBJECTIVES 3.1 Broad objective  To explore and estimate the impact of Child abuse on child health in Blantyre rural 3.2 Specific objectives  To assess the knowledge of child abuse and its impact on child health in Blantyre rural  To determine the most common forms of child abuse in Blantyre rural  To determine the child health problems that emerge due to child abuse  To estimate child mortality rate due to child abuse