Evidence-Informed Practice, Practice-informed Research

Every day in the UK, thousands of children are living with the reality of child abuse or neglect. A huge amount of positive work goes on throughout the country, with professionals working alongside children and their parents to offer support and protection, and to mitigate against the devastating short- and long-term impact of abuse.

All too often, however, professionals get blamed when things go wrong: on the one hand, being criticised for failing to act to protect vulnerable children; while on the other, being accused of interfering unnecessarily in family life. It is essential, therefore, that the work we do to protect children and support families is informed by high-quality research, and applied by skilled professionals working within appropriate guidelines.

Evidence-informed practice is one of the hallmarks of authoritative child protection, a concept I have explored in an editorial for Child Abuse Review.

Evidence-informed practice is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence, integrated with relevant expertise and an understanding of the context, to guide decision making in relation to individual cases.

Sidebotham, 2009, based on Sackett, 1996

Equally important, the research we undertake into child maltreatment and child protection needs to be informed and driven by practice: by the needs of children and families and through listening carefully to them and to practitioners.

Child Abuse Review 25^th Anniversary Conference

So, with that in mind, I am particularly excited about a conference we are holding in Birmingham later this year.

We have five exceptional key-note speakers, and are anticipating a wide range of high-quality free papers.

The deadline for abstract submission is 30^th June, so get your abstract in quickly.

Further details and an abstract submission form can be found on the BASPCAN home page.

Friday 18 November 2016

Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham

Join authors and editors past and present for this special one-day conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Child Abuse Review

The day will include:

Optional pre-conference breakfast meeting for delegates on how to get published in Child Abuse Review
Opening plenary session setting the theme
Two parallel sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon on the following themes:
- Child Sexual Exploitation
- Neglect
- Domestic violence
- Translating research into practice
- Each parallel session will include one invited keynote lecture, a number of short presentations from submitted abstracts, and a plenary discussion.
A closing plenary and celebration of 25 years of Child Abuse Review.

Keynote Speakers:

Professor Nicky Stanley, University of Central Lancashire

Professor Marian Brandon, University of East Anglia

Professor Jenny Pearce, University of Bedfordshire

Dr Stephanie Holt, Trinity College, Dublin

Professor Kevin Browne, Nottingham University

Find out more:

Visit the BASPCAN website for the full programme, speaker updates and booking information – www.baspcan.org.uk

BASPCAN, 17 PRIORY STREET, YORK, YO1 6ET – TEL: 01904 613605 – conferences@baspcan.org.uk

Book online at http://www.baspcan.org.uk/booking.php

Registered Charity No. 279119

You can sign up for free contents alerts for Child Abuse Review at the journal home page

June 15, 2016

Child Abuse Review: Making a positive impact on safeguarding children

2016 is a significant year for our journal, Child Abuse Review, as we celebrate 25 years of journal production. During that time the journal has proved a positive forum for the publication of research, policy and practice in relation to child abuse and neglect. So we were particularly pleased to hear this week that, once again, the journal’s impact factor has risen by 12% on last year’s figure. This puts us 17^th out of 41 social work journals and on a par with much larger journals such as the British Journal of Social Work and the Children and Youth Services Review.

We are obviously really pleased with this progress and hope to be able to build on it. But mostly I am pleased because this is on a base of striving to ensure that the journal is relevant and accessible to those on the front line of child protection practice.

We will shortly be publishing issue three of this anniversary year, with an emphasis on continuity and change in child protection research and practice, and our special issue, due out later in the year, will focus on digital technologies, child abuse and child protection. You can view these, our open access virtual issues, and sign up for free contents alerts at the journal home page.

‘Evidence–Informed Practice, Practice-Informed Research’

On the 18^th November in Birmingham we will be hosting a special anniversary conference. This will include parallel sessions on child sexual exploitation, neglect, domestic violence, and on translating research into practice. We are inviting submission of abstracts for research to present at the conference, and it promises to be a really engaging day, with high quality free papers, and prominent keynote speakers.

The deadline for abstract submission is 30^th June, so if you have some research or practice evaluation to present, I would encourage you to submit an abstract.

To submit an abstract or register for the event, go to the BASPCAN events page:

http://www.baspcan.org.uk/events-national.php

May 31, 2016

“What’s natural about a healthy person dying?” Making sense of the inexplicable.

“I know they are saying natural causes but what’s natural about a healthy person dying?” – bereaved mother

In spite of huge advances in research and policy, our understanding of the many genetic, biological and environmental factors contributing to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains partial. Over 200 babies in this country die suddenly and unexpectedly each year. This is far fewer than the thousands who died in such ways during the 1980s, and largely attributable to recognising and tackling environmental risk factors such as unsafe sleep. Nevertheless, each one of these deaths is devastating and we owe it to parents and families to do everything we can to prevent them.

One of my PhD students, Jo Garstang, has just published some of her research based on interviews with bereaved parents, listening to their experiences and how they understood their infants’ deaths.

Parental understanding and self-blame following sudden infant death: a mixed-methods study of bereaved parents’ and professionals’ experiences

Working with Jo over the past few years has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own experiences with bereaved families.

It seems to me that there are three basic drivers underlying how we grieve, which I like to think about in terms of saying goodbye, moving forward, and making sense.

Saying goodbye captures the expressive aspects of grieving, encompassing the various ways in which we express the pain and hurt we feel; moving forward, the restorative aspects – those actions that allow us to move on with life, recognising that our lives have changed, but need to carry on. This is not letting go or moving on as though the loss we have been through has not happened, but rather holding the pain that we feel as a part of our lives as they now are, yet not being crippled by it.

The third aspect, making sense, overlaps with both of these and it seems to me, is a central part of all grieving. Whenever we lose someone through death, we need somehow to make sense of that, to find a narrative that helps us to understand and live with the pain. And this is never more so than in the untimely death of a child.

“No parent should have to bury their child.” – King Theoden, Lord of the Rings

One of the greatest needs of the bereaved parents I have met is a need to explain and make sense of their grief. Different families approach this need in different ways, but one of the key findings from Jo’s research was that many parents construct a narrative of blame. Several families expressed their frustration at not knowing why their baby died, and the powerlessness that imposes.

“An unexplained death by its nature is an unpredictable event rendering the parents powerless to prevent future tragedies, thus increasing the anxiety and grief.”

In response to this, some parents blame themselves for their child’s death, and end up carrying a huge burden of guilt on top of the grief with which they are already living. Others seek to blame others – health professionals, police officers, other family members – for their baby’s death or for what happened afterwards. All of this provides a frame of reference within which the family can make some sense of their grief, and both say goodbye to their child and start to move forward.

“Self-blame can be a normal part of grieving after infant death: by blaming oneself for the death, it stops being a random, unexplained event, and can be controlled, giving a sense of order; this situation may be easier to live with.”

However, while blame, whether self-blame or blaming others, may help ease some of the pain and helplessness of unexplained grief, it seems to me that in the long run this is counterproductive and ultimately works against fully saying goodbye and moving forward.

In contrast to those families who seemed stuck with narratives of blame, some families in Jo’s research neither blamed themselves, nor anyone else, for their child’s death. It seems to me that this provides a resolution: an understanding that makes sense, and enables a healthy saying goodbye and a way to move forward. Some of these parents were able to accept the way in which different environmental factors may have contributed to their child’s death without having to live with perpetual guilt over it. Such an acceptance provides hope: for any future children, it means there are things the parents can do to reduce the risk of death.

And so, one of the key findings from this research is that we owe it to parents to be honest, even when that might be painful. It isn’t easy to discuss with parents how their actions, such as smoking or falling asleep on a sofa with their baby, might have contributed to their child’s death. But if we do so frankly yet with compassion, it seems to me that we can move beyond an unhelpful and patronising attitude, to one which truly supports parents at a difficult time and enables them to grieve, positively.

“We should acknowledge that risk factors may not be easily modifiable, but this should not stop us sharing the information with parents, to help them understand more about why their child died and to assist them in making informed choices with subsequent infants.”

You can read Jo’s research paper online at:

Parental understanding and self blame

May 28, 2016May 28, 2016

Plain packaging of cigarettes: Good news for children and families

The 19^th of May this year was a good day for individuals, children and families in this country and potentially around the world.

In a landmark ruling in the High Court, Mr Justice Green dismissed a legal challenge by the world’s four biggest tobacco manufacturers to stop the introduction of plain packaging of cigarettes in this country.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Green pointed out the weaknesses of the evidence put forward by the tobacco giants, and emphasised the damaging impact of tobacco marketing on both individuals and on our country:

“In the United Kingdom alone, 600 children every day are initiated into smoking. These are the future customers of the tobacco industry… [smoking generates] a vast financial burden for the state in terms of medical and care costs and it imposes, for those who succumb to tobacco-related illness, pain and suffering.”

This is a huge step forward. There seems to me little doubt that the tobacco companies themselves were convinced that branded packaging encourages more people to smoke, otherwise they wouldn’t have fought the ruling so vehemently. As one cigarette packet designer pointed out:

“A cigarette package is part of a smoker’s clothing, and when he saunters into a bar and plunks it down, he makes a statement about himself. When a user displays a badge product, this is witnessed by others, providing a living testimonial endorsement of the user on behalf of that brand and product.”

The UK now joins Australia and France in banning all branded packaging. Ireland, Hungary, Norway, Canada and New Zealand are set to follow.

Let’s hope the momentum will grow, and the tobacco companies and those who own and direct them will be increasingly exposed for the greed and indifference that compels them to keep producing and marketing their products, fully cognisant of the grief and suffering they bring.

May 18, 2016

Safeguarding Children’s Oral Health and Wellbeing

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of a great training manual and online resource for dental teams in recognising and responding to concerns about abuse and neglect.

I had the privilege of working with a great team of dentists and others to pull together Child Protection and the Dental Team (http://www.cpdt.org.uk/) and it has been encouraging to see how it has been used across the country. The lead author, Jenny Harris, has recently pulled together a virtual issue of Child Abuse Review, freely available online, to highlight the ongoing needs to safeguard and protect children’s oral health and wellbeing. This was launched at the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry’s inaugural Stakeholder Day last week in London.

As Jenny points out in her editorial, this is about more than simply recognising when children’s oral health needs are being neglected, but also about awareness of wider patterns of neglect, and of the much broader public health issue of promoting good oral health and wellbeing.

Untreated dental disease not only causes pain and infection but also has an insidious impact on children’s growth and development and interrupts their play, education and social interaction.

The virtual issue consists of 9 papers covering issues specific to dental practice, as well as some wider articles considering different aspects of abuse and neglect and how we work with these. It is our hope that these papers will be of interest, not just to dental practitioners, but to all who share our concern for protecting children and promoting their health and wellbeing. Do take a look.

Children’s Oral Health and Wellbeing: Table of Contents

An overview and pilot study of the dental practitioner’s role in child protection. Cairns A, Murphy M, Welbury R. (2004) Child Abuse Review 13(1): 65–72

An audit of a child protection basic awareness programme within the dental hospital setting: are we effective or not? Soldani F, Robertson S, Foley J. (2008) Child Abuse Review 17(1): 55–63.

Clinical Audit of Children’s Missed Dental Appointments in a City-Wide Salaried Community Dental Service in Relation to Guidance on When to Suspect Child Maltreatment. Harris JC, Firth LM, Chadwick BL. (2015) Child Abuse Review Early View: 16 Nov 2015

Child abuse, child protection and disabled children: a review of recent research. Stalker K, McArthur K. (2012) Child Abuse Review 21(1): 24–40.

Resistant Parents and Child Protection: Knowledge Base, Pointers for Practice and Implications for Policy. Tuck V. (2013) Child Abuse Review 22(1): 5–19.

Why Have We Made Neglect So Complicated? Taking a Fresh Look at Noticing and Helping the Neglected Child. Daniel, B. (2015) Child Abuse Review 24 (2): 82–94.

Early indicators of child abuse and neglect: a multi-professional Delphi study. Powell C. (2003) Child Abuse Review 12(1): 25–40.

Red skies, risk factors and early indicators. Sidebotham P. (2003) Child Abuse Review 12(1): 41–45.

The Contemporary Politics of Child Protection: Part Two (the BASPCAN Founder’s Lecture 2015). Parton N. (2016) Child Abuse Review 25(1): 9–16

May 14, 2016May 14, 2016

Big Tobacco: absolving the corporate conscience

After my enraged outburst against the seemingly callous indifference of the big tobacco companies to the immense suffering they cause to millions of families around the world, I decided I should do a bit more than just rant and rave.

So, taking a deep breath, I wrote to the chairs of the boards of the two big UK based companies, inviting them to come with me to meet some bereaved parents whose babies died suddenly and unexpectedly and for whom, their own addiction to cigarettes was undoubtedly a contributory factor. I didn’t expect anything great, but I felt that maybe, if they did accept and were to hear, first hand, these families’ stories, maybe, just maybe, it might touch something.

Richard Burrows: Chair of Board of Directors, British American Tobacco

Mark Williamson Chair of Board of Directors, Imperial Tobacco

As I looked, on their websites, at the ordinary, human faces of the directors of these companies, I felt once more saddened and angry: surely, these were normal human beings, just like you and me, with friends and families whom they loved and cared for. And yet, somehow, these people could sit in their offices and corporate board rooms, thinking about profits and marketing strategies and all the other things that directors think about, while blocking off the death and suffering their products are causing.

After a long gap, I did hear back from the head of corporate affairs at British American Tobacco. Not surprisingly, they turned down my offer for a meeting with bereaved parents. As they pointed out, it is probably ‘not appropriate for us to play the role of adviser on public health issues.’

“We clearly acknowledge the reported risks related to smoking while pregnant and explicitly endorse the advice of health professionals such as yourself to refrain from smoking during pregnancy. We also agree that people should not smoke in the vicinity of children.”

– British American Tobacco

Imperial Tobacco has remained silent.

So does acknowledging the risks absolve the corporate conscience?

And meanwhile, while hundreds of babies die as a result of exposure to parental cigarette smoke, and millions worldwide suffer and die of diseases caused by tobacco, the corporate giants will continue to manufacture and promote their wares.

This coming week, the High Court in London will rule on a challenge by British American Tobacco PLC, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International Inc. against the UK parliament’s vote to ban branded packaging of cigarettes. If the High Court rules in favour of the government, this will come into effect in May next year, marking a huge step forward in the battle against tobacco, and following Australia who went that way in 2012 and have since seen smoking prevalence decline from 19.4% to 17.2% (with a quarter of that decline being attributed to the introduction of plain packaging).

I don’t know how much the court case will have cost, but I suspect it is not unreasonable to guess that hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been spent in fighting the challenge, money that could, instead, have been invested in health, education or welfare. And that, too, makes me angry.

May 4, 2016

What Helps Children and Young People Move Forward Following Child Maltreatment?

‘It is known that some young people show remarkable resilience to very negative experiences. For others, however, alongside a broad range of multiagency interventions, appropriate individual/family psychological support and therapeutic approaches are desirable and/or necessary to facilitate recovery and prevent a severe impact on the function and quality of victims’ lives.’ – Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis

Our latest, themed, issue of Child Abuse Review focuses on a number of different interventions for children and young people following child maltreatment, and presents a positive picture of what can be done to help them move forward. Central to any effective intervention is an approach that learns from and engages with the ‘experts by experience’: both children and young people affected by abuse and neglect, and their parents. As Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis points out in her accompanying editorial, two themes coming across in the included papers are ‘the role of parents, including communication style, warmth, sensitivity and responsiveness’ and ‘hearing the voices of young people’.

While the full articles are only available to BASPCAN members and subscribers to the journal, all abstracts can be accessed freely online.

Themed Issue on Interventions following child maltreatment. Child Abuse Review, 2016, 25:2

Table of Contents

Editorial: What helps children and young people move forward following child maltreatment? Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis

Intervening with severely and chronically neglected children and their families: The contribution of trauma-informed approaches. Tristan Milot, Diane St-Laurent, Louise S. Éthier

Predictors of group treatment outcomes for child sexual abuse: An investigation of the role of demographic and abuse characteristics. Atara Hiller, Craig Springer, Justin Misurell, Amy Kranzler, Shireen Rizvi

Turning it around: What do Young women say helps them to move on from child sexual exploitation? Philip Gilligan

Head Start’s impact on cognitive outcomes for children in foster care. Kyunghee Lee

When preschool is not enough: Head Start and foster care (Invited Comment). Adam J Zolotor

Interrupting the intergenerational transmission of violence. Keri L.M. Pinna

Book Reviews and Training Updates

Practitioner toolkit: Getting it right for children and families affected by parental problem alcohol and drug use (Training Update)

FGM aware: Sara’s story (Training Update)

Attaching through love, hugs and play: simple strategies to help build connections with your child by Deborah D Gray (Book Review)

Treatment of child abuse: Common ground for mental health, medical and legal practitioners (2^nd Edition) edited by R. M. Reece, R. F. Hanson and J. Sargent (Book Review)

April 23, 2016April 22, 2016

Child Abuse Review: 25 years of supporting professionals and still improving

Yesterday we had our editorial board meeting for Child Abuse Review. It was encouraging to reflect on how the journal has been going and think about how we can make it even better for our readers and our authors.

Improving our readers’ experience

Child Abuse Review has always prided itself in publishing high quality research that is relevant to practitioners, accessible and readable. So it was encouraging to hear from our publishers that our article downloads have increased another 3% last year to nearly 80,000 from across the globe. We are always looking for ways to improve what we produce and how, so if you have any ideas do let us know. One particularly successful initiative last year was to produce a virtual issue on Child Protection in Nordic Countries, available freely for a short time. This has been followed by one on child sexual abuse and children’s rights, and others now in the pipeline:

Children’s oral health and wellbeing
Child sexual exploitation
Parental mental health problems

Keep an eye on the website for details of those, or sign up for our free contents alerts.

The number of full-text downloads for articles published in the journal has also increased this year, with our top 10 articles receiving an average of over 1,000 downloads:

Category: Protecting Children

Evidence-Informed Practice, Practice-informed Research

Child Abuse Review 25^th Anniversary Conference

Child Abuse Review: Making a positive impact on safeguarding children

‘Evidence–Informed Practice, Practice-Informed Research’

“What’s natural about a healthy person dying?” Making sense of the inexplicable.

Plain packaging of cigarettes: Good news for children and families

Safeguarding Children’s Oral Health and Wellbeing

Children’s Oral Health and Wellbeing: Table of Contents

Big Tobacco: absolving the corporate conscience

What Helps Children and Young People Move Forward Following Child Maltreatment?

Child Abuse Review: 25 years of supporting professionals and still improving

Improving our readers’ experience

Top 10 most downloaded articles in 2015

Child Abuse Review 25th Anniversary Conference

‘Evidence–Informed Practice, Practice-Informed Research’

Improving our readers’ experience

Top 10 most downloaded articles in 2015

Child Abuse Review 25^th Anniversary Conference