Difficulty of caring for children in danger or at risk of danger in Var (a French department) by general practitioners and private pediatricians.

BACKGROUND

The exposure of children to situations of danger or risk of danger is a major public health problem. General practitioners (GPs) and pediatricians play an essential role in identification and management of these situations thanks to two procedures: the administrative procedure consists of sending an information of concern ("Information préoccupante" -IP- in French) to the departmental unit of collection, evaluation and processing of information of concern (CRIP in French) for a child at risk of danger; the judicial procedure consists of sending an alert ("signalement" in French) to the public prosecutor for serious and immediate danger. However, hospital and private doctors only perform 5 % of child abuse alerts.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective was to describe doctors' practices regarding the care of children in danger or at risk of danger. The secondary objective was to identify areas for improving the efficiency of management.

METHODS

We present a descriptive, quantitative, and cross-sectional study using questionnaires to the GPs and pediatricians in private practice in Var (French department) in 2021.

RESULTS

Our sample consisted of 134 GPs and 28 pediatricians. 75.3 % had already faced children in danger. Only 17.1 % provided efficient management (according to the recommendations of the Haute Autorité de Santé) when faced with a suspicion of a child at risk, 53.4 % for suspicion of child abuse, and 44.5 % for child sexual abuse. Pediatricians were more likely to know the contact details of child protection actors, and 84.6 % of doctors expressed a desire for more exchanges with them. 85.8 % expressed a feeling of being insufficiently trained.

CONCLUSION

It is essential to enhance the training of doctors and foster more effective collaboration with child protection actors. We propose distributing a document to private doctors in the Var to help them identify and manage cases.