Table 3 Service development initiatives spanning health and social care
Study | Setting | Professionals involved | Type of service | Type of evaluation | Findings related to awareness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bunn 2013 [23] | Health and social care services in England | Multiple groups Multidisciplinary teams | Signs of Safety model for risk assessment and safety planning | Cross-sectional (survey and interviews) | Local authorities using the model in different ways, need for long-term evaluation of outcomes |
Care Quality Commission 2016 [24] | Health and social care services in England | Multiple groups | Services for ‘looked after’ children | Cross-sectional | Examples of good and innovative practice but more needs to be done to identify children at risk of harm |
Daniel 2010 [25] | Health and social care services in England | Multiple groups Multidisciplinary groups of practitioners from all key professions working with children | Action on Neglect educational resource | Cross-sectional | Availability of support and services in response to early signs of problems will often enable parents to provide required care |
Health and social care services in England | Multiple groups | Analysis of trends in assessment and referral | Time series | Trend to increased referral but not increased detection of abuse; possible lower threshold for referral | |
Fifield 2011 [28] | Health and social care in an area of NW England | Multiple groups Multidisciplinary teams Managers | Pilot integrated model involving safeguarding nurses | Cross-sectional (questionnaires) | Model achieved its aim but efficiency was reduced by lack of an integrated IT system |
Haynes 2015 [29] | Health and social care services in England | Multiple groups Early years practitioners Health visitors Midwives Schools nurses Teachers; GPs | Services for children at risk of neglect | Cross-sectional (interviews, focus groups and surveys) | Shortfalls in services identified, all practitioners have a role in identifying and providing early help for children suffering neglect |
Kaur 2018 [30] | Five local authorities in England | Multiple groups Commissioners, commissioning partners, service providers and local practitioner experts | Commissioned services to address child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA and CSE) | Cross-sectional | Local authority partnerships are running well-developed CSE initiatives; CSA and harmful sexual behaviour should be targeted with the same rigour as CSE. Health bodies have a role in addressing all three types of abuse. |
Spencer 2019 [31] | Dental hospital and local child protection services | Hospital nurse | Paediatric liaison nurse service | Case series with comparison group | Service promotes integrated multidisciplinary working and helps overcome barriers to dentistry’s involvement in safeguarding children. |
Webber 2013 [32] | London borough: adult mental health and children’s social care | Multiple groups Social workers (52%); managers; nurses; psychiatrists; clinical psychologists; and occupational therapists | Joint protocols to support multiagency working | Cross-sectional (survey) | Practitioners perceived that the protocols had increased awareness of the risk factors for safeguarding children. |