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Arch Hellen Med, 41(5), September-October 2024, 670-679

ORIGINAL PAPER

Children hospitalized for suspected maltreatment in Greece: Who, why and what for?

D. Mimarakis,1 A. Soldatou,2,3 A. Panos,2,3 E. Plevriti,2,4 K. Micheli5
1"Pammakaristos" General Hospital, Department of Social Work, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete,
2"P. & A. Kyriakou" Children's Hospital, Athens,
3Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
4School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
5Department of Social Work, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of 310 children of up to 16 years of age with suspected abuse admitted to a tertiary pediatric hospital, to describe their management process, as well as to calculate the duration and basic cost of their hospitalization.

METHOD Main variables of interest were examined from a data set of minors (demographics, family and socioeconomic status, etc.) from the archives of the Social Service of "P. & A. Kyriakou" Children's Hospital of Athens. The dataset included the total of children admitted to the hospital with a public prosecutor's order during a specific three years period.

RESULTS The socioeconomic factor most often recorded in this study's participants was parental unemployment within the nuclear family structure. The main reason for referral to the Hospital's Social Service was neglect. The most frequently recorded case outcome category was the return of children to their family home under the supervision of Community Social Services. The analysis of the correlations between sex, age, residence status and the referral reasons of minors noted significant differences.

CONCLUSIONS The findings of the study may contribute to the design and implementation of future interventions aimed at the development of an effective and immediate response system and the formulation of abuse prevention strategies.

Key words: Abuse, Child protection, Neglect, Pediatric hospital, Social service.

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