Analysis of Case Study with Respect to Child Abuse - Essay Example

 Abstract Child abuse is a factor of major concern in the current world because of its increase in magnitude and variety. Children are exploited in the society, schools and even at their homes in different ways. Children are the future assets of a nation and any abuse against them can affect the growth of the society and the country as well. This paper analyses a given case study with respect to child abuse. Introduction Children in residential care are some of the most vulnerable in our society because of the physical, sexual or emotional abuse they may experience. “They may be involved in offending or the misuse of drugs and alcohol. They are separated from their families and have to cope with living in a group situation with other young people and staff members” (Kendrick) We are living in a world of different kinds of abuses like domestic abuse, women abuse, workplace abuse etc and child abuse is the prominent one in this category. Child abuse often happens knowingly or unknowingly. It can happen at home, in schools, or in child care units. Improper child care and the subsequent injuries are the major cause for children in the United States. Most of the mothers in United States, who are binge drinkers, refrain from their responsibilities of giving proper care to their child. They will keep their infants in child care agencies before going for their work or other leisure activities. As per one of the studies conducted in United States, children of mothers who were problem drinkers were 2.1 times more likely to have had various types of serious injuries than children of mothers who did not drink, and children with two parents who were problem drinkers were 2.7 times more likely to have been injured (Maxson et al.p.37) On the other hand, most of the care givers are also addicted to alcohol or drugs which prevented the children from getting proper care from there also. In the given case study, it is evident that the child suffered injuries like fractures from the child care unit because of the lack of care received by the child. “Injury is the leading cause of death for children and has been linked to caregiver drinking. Screening and brief intervention for risky drinking has been successful in adult trauma centers but has not been evaluated in caregivers of pediatric trauma patients” (Maxson et al.p.37) Ethical issues and related ethical principles in the given case study In my opinion, the mothers, who depend childcare agencies are denying the child the opportunity and the basic right to get the proper care from his/her mother at a time when it is mostly needed. As all the scientific evidences show, a child needs mother’s affection, love and care for the correct shaping of his/her physical and mental growth. So, the mother who has left the child of mere 8 months old in a childcare agency, is the main culprit in the given case study in my opinion, whatever the reasons she may have to cite. I know that there may be arguments against the views expressed above, especially in the current world, in which both the parents forced to work because of the increased expenses. But, in my opinion, the mother should spent at least 3 to 4 years of the initial development of the child, with him/her as the mother has the moral responsibility of looking after the children especially at the early stages. In the given case study, though the doctor has not found anything related to child abuse, in my opinion, it is a clear case of child abuse because of the following reasons. The caretaker has failed to give proper care to the child The caretaker has not informed the mother about the mishap The caretaker has not hospitalized the child immediately after the mishap for medical attention The child caretaker has the responsibility of properly looking after the children given to them for care by the parents. Child care units are not a social service unit and they are collecting a substantial amount of money from the parents for looking after their children. Because of the above fact, they should be able to provide the highest possible care to the child’s life. Life is so precious and at the early stages, children may not have the idea about the good and evil and the caregivers or the parents have the responsibility of safeguarding a child from harmful situations. In case of a mishap at their premise, the child care agency should take proper actions to save the life of the child. In the given case study, it is understood that they have not revealed anything about the incident which led to the fracture, to the mother and the mother unknowingly brought the child to the hospital thinking in terms of some simple reasons for the child’s constant crying. Being the person who has given the child for care, the mother should have been informed by the incident by the caregiver rather than handing over the child to the mother as if nothing has happened. In fact, it is the duty of the child care organization to hospitalize the child immediately after the incident or mishap which caused fracture. But they tried to hide the incident in order to stay away from taking the blame for that; may be because of some serious negligence form their side. They have forgotten the fact that they are putting the life of an innocent child in jeopardy. “Public health agencies rely heavily on access to identifiable health information to accomplish their core functions of monitoring health threats and responding to injury, disease, and disability among populations (eg, surveillance, program evaluation, preparedness, and outbreak investigations)” (Lee & Gostin, p.82) The public health agencies need exact figures or statistics in order to identify the threats for keeping the American citizens in healthy conditions and for that they need all the information regarding it. The intentional hiding of the mishap by the caregiver is definitely a violation of the rules both ethically and legally. Conclusions Mothers are primarily responsible for caring their children especially at their early stages. The childcare agencies who offer care to infants must have the legal and ethical right to look after the child properly. In case of a mishap, it is their responsibility to inform the mother and hospitalize the child. The given case study is a clear case of child abuse as the care providers have violated both the rules and even the doctor was failed to report the incident as a child abuse. References 1. Lee, Lisa M., PhD & Gostin Lawrence O., JD, Ethical Collection, Storage, and Use of Public Health Data, Journal of American Medical Association, JAMA, July 1, 2009—Vol 302, No. 1. 2. Maxson R. Todd, MD, Guerrero Paula Yuma, MPH, Sternberg Kirk von, PhD, Lawson Karla A., PhD, Johnson Kelly M. K., MS, Brown Juliette, MHS, Smith Charlotte, MD, and Velasquez Mary M., PhD, Screening for Risky Alcohol Use Among Caregivers of Pediatric Trauma Patients: A Pilot Study, The Journal of TRAUMA® Injury, Infection, and Critical Care • Volume 67, Number 1, July Supplement 2009 3. Kendrick Andrew, 2009, Ethical issues, research and vulnerability: gaining the views of children and young people in residential care Ethical issues, research and vulnerability: gaining the views of children and young people in residential care Ethical issues, research and vulnerability: gaining the views of children and young people in residential care Ethical issues, research and vulnerability: gaining the views of children and young people in residential careEthical Issues, research and vulnerability: gaining the views children research and vulnerability and young people in residential care, Retrieved on July 18, 2009 from http://strath.academia.edu/AndrewKendrick/Papers/10430/Ethical-issues--research-and-vulnerability--gaining-the-views-of-children-and-young-people-in-residential-care Read More