"Tackling child neglect: developing and testing public health solutions"

Neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment, affecting 1 in 10 children and is a damaging childhood experience associated with very poor physical and mental health outcomes. Despite efforts, child neglect remains... [ view full abstract ]

Neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment, affecting 1 in 10 children and is a damaging childhood experience associated with very poor physical and mental health outcomes. Despite efforts, child neglect remains an intractable problem because traditional investigative child protection systems help individual children after the fact but cannot address the increased number of cases of neglect associated with a range of structural, community and individual factors. Thus, there is an urgent need for in-depth exploration of alternative approaches. The current project is focused on the primary prevention of neglect in Scotland, and will aim to explore the potential for adopting a public health approach to tackle child neglect. Messages for other countries will be drawn from the work in Scotland.

Specifically, firstly an extended literature review concerning child neglect and public health will be undertaken in order to shape a feasible framework for a public health approach to  child neglect. Following this, the proposed framework will be tested in the field; at this point the charity Action for Children (United Kingdom), which is active on the issue of child neglect, would facilitate the process of getting access to children, parents and practitioners. Finally, the framework for a public health approach will be finalised and guidelines regarding the implementation and evaluation will be developed. At all stages of the process there will be consultation with policy makers and practitioners to ensure the utility of the approach.

Overall, it is expected that the development of a feasible prevention system for neglect based on a population-wide intervention would contribute significantly to approaches to neglect in Scotland and beyond.