Category: Child Abuse

Articles of Note: August 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date August 14, 2020

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp…well, you know the drill by now. There’s some exciting stuff in here–especially in terms of care of the queer and trans communities–plus there’s a smattering of big, sweeping analyses, for those of you who like big-picture research. As always, it’s not exhaustive, but simply what’s caught my eye in the peer-reviewed literature as of late. {Please refresh your screen if the embedded doc below doesn’t immediately appear–sometimes it’s moody.}

COVID-related research is in red; free full-text articles are marked (although there’s not much this month). Hit me up if you’re having trouble getting articles, though–don’t suffer in silence and don’t bankrupt yourself if you’re not lucky enough to have access to a university or hospital library. Here at FHO we are connected to a few benefactors who can help out with such matters.

Thanks to everyone who offered to review the next monograph on testimony–I’m still working my way through it, but as soon as it’s ready for fresh eyes I will be contacting a few of you for an early read and feedback.

Don’t forget to visit our FHO Store where you’ll find a complete list of our offerings, perfect to help prep for your next court date or educational offering, including the latest: Applying the Strangulation Research to Expert Testimony. And coming soon: Testimony and the Forensic Nurse Expert.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault

Articles of Note: July 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date July 15, 2020

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the peer-reviewed literature. As always, there’s no shortage of science to peruse, so if you are still side-lined because of COVID, or are at least finding yourself [again, still] with far more time on your hands than you used to, I suggest working your way through the list. COVID-related research and reviews are in red; full-text articles are marked as such. Links, for the most part, will take you to PubMed abstracts. Most of you have been here for quite some time and know the drill, but in case you’re new here, it’s generally pretty self-explanatory. [The embedded PDF doesn’t always load the first go-round, so refresh if you don’t have immediate success.]. If you are having trouble finding a particular article, please let me know–we have our ways here at FHO 🙂

Starting the last week of this month I’m back on the road (allegedly–hello, Ft. Bragg), so while I don’t relish trying to keep myself out of the clutches of the cornona virus, I do look forward to seeing some of you in three dimension, rather than over my computer screen. Man, do I miss uncomplicated human interactions…

I’m finishing up the next monograph for the FHO store–this one is on testimony, and it is more workbook and guidebook than research compilation, as previous resources have been. If you are interested in being a peer reviewer for this one, please let me know. I am always looking for new reviewers of varying levels and types of forensic nursing experience. Reviewers receive a free copy of the monograph once it’s published.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: June 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date June 15, 2020

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the newly published scientific articles. Just like last month, those citations in red are COVID-related forensic pubs; everything else is your non-pandemic forensic healthcare-associated research or clinical literature. You’ll notice there’s less red this month which is–better? Not sure. Here in the US we’re being awfully cavalier about this virus, so I guess we shall have to see.

As always, links take you to PubMed abstracts unless you see the words FREE FULL TEXT–those take you to the full article. Do let me know if you have trouble getting your hands on a particular article, in case you are not blessed with hospital librarians, or located within actual academic institutions. We have connections here at FHO 🙂 Happy reading, everyone…

[If you have trouble seeing the embedded document on your page below please refresh–sometimes it doesn’t show up the 1st time, for reasons no one can explain to me.]

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{Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash}

Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: May 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date May 14, 2020

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the newly published, peer-reviewed literature. Something different you may notice this month: articles specific to the intersection of COVID-19 and violence are delineated in red, for those of you looking for that content in particular. Otherwise, everything continues unchanged, even as we plug away, here at FHO headquarters, going on 9 weeks of lockdown (but healthy, knock wood, and still seeing patients Thursday nights, so there’s a break in the routine). Here’s hoping these articles find you healthy, as well, and able to continue feeding your brain and growing/strengthening your practice.

Links take you to PubMed abstracts, as always, except where noted as Full Text. Enjoy the reading–we’re heavy on sexual assault this month, but there are some interesting articles on the role of forensic nurses in here, too. [If the doc below doesn’t come up the first time, reload your page & see if that doesn’t do the trick.]

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Don’t forget to visit our FHO Store where you’ll find a complete list of our offerings, perfect to help prep for your next court date or educational offering, including the latest: Applying the Strangulation Research to Expert Testimony.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: April 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date April 15, 2020

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through what’s newly published in the peer-reviewed literature. A few items of interest for those of you who are educators, and a good bit of variety for everyone else in the field. Lots that is clinically relevant, not all of it from the US. Plus one or two familiar faces in the bunch, which I always like to see.

A note in response to a reader’s query about whether (essentially) posting=endorsing. The answer, of course, is no–I post what I think is interesting, what I think others may find interesting, and what I think is worth noticing, even if it isn’t particularly great. Please remember that not everything given space in a journal is actually good science. And just because we think it’s good science today doesn’t mean we might not revise that opinion a year or two down the road. So please read critically–pick apart hypotheses, consider whether what you read applies to your own patient populations or mirrors what you see in practice. I publish these compilations only to get folks to read. What you choose to do with that information is up to you.

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Don’t forget to visit our FHO Store where you’ll find a complete list of our offerings, perfect to help prep for your next court date or educational offering, including the latest: Applying the Strangulation Research to Expert Testimony.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault

Articles of Note: March 2020 (Social Distancing) Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date March 17, 2020

My hunch is you are falling into one of two categories professionally right now–either ridiculously busy as you try and manage the clinical fallout that is the reality of the pandemic (I see you ED and critical care folks, and all you who are floating right now to lend a hand), or (my situation) eerily at a standstill as much of the work has fallen off the calendar and you are, for the time being, grounded. I am fortunate that my consulting firm has a diverse portfolio that includes a substantial amount of policy and writing work that I am able to do remotely, so for the time being, that will be where my focus lies. This also allows for some catch up with reading, so, as scheduled, it’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the newly released peer-reviewed literature. If things are slower for you, perhaps you’ll be able to catch up on some reading, as well. You’ll notice there’s more this month, and for those of you who include elder abuse among your areas of concentration, you’re particularly in luck–there was quite a bit this month on that subject.

Here’s hoping this finds you in good health; that those of you with school aged-children are figuring this out as schools are closed but work continues; that acts of kindness aren’t scarce in these uncertain times; and that the world resumes some sense of normalcy sooner rather than later. Stay well everyone.

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Don’t forget to visit our FHO Store where you’ll find a complete list of our offerings, perfect to help prep for your next court date or educational offering, including the latest: Applying the Strangulation Research to Expert Testimony.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault

Articles of Note: February 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date February 11, 2020
2 Comments on Articles of Note: February 2020 Edition

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the newly published peer-reviewed literature. As always, this isn’t an exhaustive review of what’s been released, but a pretty robust list of the science that has caught my eye and feels particularly relevant to practice. Shoutout to all the forensic nurses publishing this month–I see you 🙂

There’s a lot to work through so gird your loins, gang. As always, links lead to PubMed abstracts.

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Don’t forget to visit our FHO Store where you’ll find a complete list of our offerings, perfect to help prep for your next court date or educational offering, including the latest: Applying the Strangulation Research to Expert Testimony.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: January 2020 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date January 16, 2020

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the newly published peer-reviewed literature, and our first edition here in our new home. There’s plenty to capture the attention, so take your time with the list.

I should also mention for those who didn’t see the initial newsletter or the announcement on social media, we’re giving away two IAFN conference registrations for this year’s meeting in Palm Springs. Last year, we gave away one, and we gave it to a reader. This year, it’s two, and it’s for someone a reader promotes. Why? Because people are out there doing good work. And because that good work needs to be shouted from the rooftops. And because there’s plenty of self-promotion in the world, but a paucity of lifting up of others. And we need to see forensic nurses shining in public. On social media in particular. So if you would like to participate, please tell us about a member of your crew who is doing great things. You can leave a comment here, email us–OR better yet, shout it from the social media rooftops on the FHO Facebook page or on Twitter. Please use the hashtag #ShineOnForensicRN so we can find your entries. Winners won’t be chosen at random so make those entries good. The giveaway will be live until January 22nd. All FHO readers are eligible, including international readers.

Anyway, back to this month’s articles–links lead to PubMed abstracts, excepts where indicated:

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault

Articles of Note: December 2019 Edition (See You in 2020)

Post author By Jen
Post date December 12, 2019
6 Comments on Articles of Note: December 2019 Edition (See You in 2020)

This will be the last post of the year–I am closing up shop for the remainder of the year to prep a couple of large projects and spend some time with family and friends (not to mention, celebrate a milestone birthday with Sasha 🙂 ). When I come back, it will likely be with a brand new website, a completely new look, and the 11th anniversary of FHO. I imagine there will be a giveaway involved in commemorating that momentous occasion, so stay tuned for more details.

I figured we’d end the year in the most appropriate way–one final Articles of Note to give folks a bit of reading over the holidays. You’ll notice it looks a little different–PubMed has had a facelift, and in the process, is better in some ways, but worse for this list. So now, all links lead to Publisher’s websites for abstracts, except where indicated (and there’s a lot that’s free full text this month). Nice to also see some friends among the authors.

As always, thanks for turning out to this nerdy little website in 2019. Almost 2000 of you now subscribe; more than 22K new users showed up this year, and if you’re wondering what the number one most visited page was on the site (besides the home page, of course), it was this one (which I guess, shouldn’t surprise me that much).

See you back here next year. A safe, happy and healthy holiday to you all.

xoxo Jen

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect

Best Practice Guidelines for Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, and Intimate Partner Violence (& a Short Rant)

Post author By Jen
Post date December 4, 2019
10 Comments on Best Practice Guidelines for Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, and Intimate Partner Violence (& a Short Rant)

I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago when it showed up in my inbox and then it got buried, so I am a bit late in getting this up. The American College of Surgeons recently published its Trauma Quality Improvement Program Best Practice Guidelines for Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, and Intimate Partner Violence. This is a pretty rich resource for all of you hospital-based folks out there (and there’s some helpful information for those of you in the community, as well). It’s a chewy document (more than 120 pages), so there’s a lot to work through, but it’s certainly worth your time. Screening tools, assessment recommendations, coding resources–it’s all in there.

And not for nothing, but related to a significant pet-peeve of mine: this is what we’re talking about when we’re talking about best practices. Guidelines created from evidence-based literature when available and consensus of a professional clinical/scientific group when evidence is unavailable. Frequently (read: at trial) people like to sling the term best practices around with no weight behind it. Best practices are not oral traditions passed down from clinician to clinician. Best practices are written documents, published and available to the profession. If you tell me (or testify) that something is a best practice, please be prepared to identify where that best practice can be found. Because if it’s not published somewhere, it’s not a best practice–it’s just your practice.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: November 2019 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date November 13, 2019

Time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the peer-reviewed literature. Plenty to read, plenty to consider this month (as always). Links lead to PubMed abstracts–please don’t stop there. Sift through the abstracts to decide what’s worth your time, and what doesn’t apply to your clinical life. Better yet, divide among your colleagues and get together for real-time discussion. What an excellent use of staff meeting time.

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Child Abuse Sexual Assault

How to Prevent Sexual Violence Against Children — 7 Days of Ideas

Post author By Jen
Post date October 31, 2019

Here’s a cool-looking offering: Apolitical is offering a micro-course called How to Prevent Sexual Violence Against Children — 7 Days of Ideas. I know nothing about it beyond what’s on their site, but I am thoroughly intrigued:

On November 20, 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 30 years on, major strides in children’s rights have been made, but the nature of sexual abuse and exploitation of children is evolving. Increasingly, abuse and exploitation are happening online — and often governments are ill-equipped to address these new threats.

We’ll walk you through practical approaches to addressing the issue, highlighting the most innovative tools, technologies and techniques which are working to prevent sexual violence against children. You’ll get:

Bite-sized activities or articles, taking 10 minutes or less per day, for 7 days
A practical introduction to evidence-based interventions for preventing child sexual violence – and how to apply it to your work
Global case studies and reading lists highlighting best practices and innovations in the field

You can complete as many or as few as you like, and you’ll have opportunities to connect with peers and experts applying these concepts globally.

To participate you must register by 15 November. See all the details here.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: October 2019 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date October 16, 2019

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the newly published peer-reviewed literature. There is *a lot* of choice material to sort through this month, so I hope you will spend some quality time with the list. As always, links lead to PubMed abstracts.

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Child Abuse Sexual Assault

2018 STD Surveillance Report

Post author By Jen
Post date October 10, 2019
1 Comment on 2018 STD Surveillance Report

(1st week of Journal Club is live, so feel free to jump in; we’ll pose new questions each Tuesday.)

The CDC just released its 2018 STD Surveillance Report and it is grim. They’re reporting increases in chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis (including congenital syphilis, which is up 185% since 2014). Helpful to know as you are considering what services to provide, including testing vs presumptive treating, medication choices, etc. As always, consult your local health department as well to get an accurate picture of the incidence and prevalence in your own community.

Read the full report here.

Table of contents if you want to jump around or are interested in specific data.

Here are your state ranking tables.

And for those of you looking for PPT slides, you can find the full downloadable list here.

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Child Abuse

WHO Guidelines for the Health Sector Response to Child Maltreatment

Post author By Jen
Post date October 1, 2019

[There’s still time to join us for our first Journal Club–get all the details here.]

WHO has a new guideline for the health sector response to child maltreatment. From the site:

Every year up to 1 billion children experience physical, sexual or psychological violence. These new WHO guidelines aim to help frontline healthcare providers to recognize children who have suffered from violence and neglect and provide evidence-based first line support. Specifically, the guidelines focus on:

Identification of children who are exposed to abuse or neglect
Supportive communication with children suspected to be victims of abuse or neglect
Assessing and addressing the safety of the child
Interacting with caregivers in suspected cases of child maltreatment
Providing immediate medical and psychosocial support for children exposed to child maltreatment
Collecting medical history, conducting physical exams and appropriate documentation of findings

These new guidelines complement Responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused: WHO clinical guidelines which were published in 2017.

Download the full report here (PDF).

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Child Abuse DV/IPV Sexual Assault

What We Know About the Polyvictimization of Youth

Post author By Jen
Post date September 25, 2019

The Center for Victim Research has a webinar coming up next week, What We Know About the Polyvictimization of Youth. The session will be held on September 30th at 2pm ET. From the site:

This webinar will focus on poly-victims, the subgroup of youth that endure the highest burden of victimization. We will cover how it has been studied, how often it occurs, what we know about its adverse effects and what we can do to respond to the needs of this highly victimized group of children.

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Child Abuse

Children in Detention: Critical Clinical, Legal, Policy, and Human Rights Issues for Health Professionals

Post author By Jen
Post date September 17, 2019

The National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse (NHCVA) is hosting a webinar, Children in Detention: Critical Clinical, Legal, Policy, and Human Rights Issues for Health Professionals. It will be held on September 25th at 2pm ET. From the website:

Thousands of children seeking refuge from life-threatening danger in their home countries have been detained by U.S. immigration authorities, and in some cases, separated from their parents and caregivers. This urgent webinar, sponsored by the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse (NHCVA) and presented by colleagues from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) addresses the clinical, mental health, policy, legal, and human rights issues faced by detained migrant children and their caregivers. Particular attention will be paid to how participants can harness their own professional training and standing to become more involved in both direct service and advocacy, in order to address what many consider to be an urgent humanitarian crisis and a deliberate assault on human rights.

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Articles of Note Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault Testimony

Articles of Note: September 2019 Edition

Post author By Jen
Post date September 5, 2019

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the peer-reviewed literature. Nothing free this month, but plenty worth tracking down, so I encourage you to spend some time with the list. It’s particularly fitting that I get a new edition up since I am sandwiching it between two weeks of teaching testimony, this week at Ft. Hood and next week at the annual IAFN conference, where we discuss at length the importance of fidelity to the science.

All links lead to PubMed abstracts. Happy reading!

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Child Abuse Sexual Assault

Human Trafficking: Shooting Our Wounded and How to Stop

Post author By Jen
Post date September 3, 2019

IPSCAN has its lasted webinar posted for viewing, Human Trafficking: Shooting Our Wounded and How to Stop. From the website:

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and the human rights issue of our lifetime, affecting the vulnerable, poor, and oppressed around the world. In this FREE webinar, Dr. Celia Williamson, director of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute at the University of Toledo, will give an overview of trafficking in the U.S. and around the world, including the process of trafficking, indicators to identify victims and traffickers, and how to report it. Rather than continuing to “shoot the wounded” with quick fixes or less-than-best practices, Dr. Williamson advocates for meaningful interventions at the individual and system levels. These can interrupt this practice, create collective change, and transform the way we think about trafficking, from a “Rescue and Restore” mission to a matter of Human Rights.

This is definitely a more introductory webinar, so if you have new members of your team (clinical or MDT) who haven’t had much continuing education on issues of trafficking, particularly trafficking of children and teens, this is a decent option. Nothing revolutionary, but solid info.

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Child Abuse DV/IPV Elder Abuse/Neglect Sexual Assault

Five Lies We Tell Ourselves About Trauma

Post author By Jen
Post date August 21, 2019
1 Comment on Five Lies We Tell Ourselves About Trauma

Jason Kander and his wife Diana published an excellent article over at Crooked Media today, Five Lies We Tell Ourselves About Trauma. It’s 100% relevant to the work we all do because it applies equally to the issue of secondary trauma, which is something we should be discussing far more in our field. It would be a great topic for an upcoming staff meeting–particularly as a way to check in with the team.

There’s a lot that resonates, but one thing in particular:

I made the mistake of trying to rank—and therefore disregard—my own trauma for many years, and that only made things worse. If something happened and you haven’t felt right since, then you should address it. To quote a friend, “Somewhere there’s a vet who was in the first wave at the D-Day invasion telling himself to get over it because he was all the way in the back of the landing craft.”

Thinking “other people have it worse” doesn’t actually diminish your own trauma, it just diminishes your power to heal, because your brain only knows what you experienced. Whether it’s combat, a serious accident, or an assault, there are many possible sources of trauma. Telling yourself to get over it, or thinking “I shouldn’t let this bother me,” will get you nowhere.

Read the whole article here.

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