The Development of a Screening Tool for Childcare Professionals to Detect and Refer Infant and Toddler Maltreatment and Trauma: A Tale of Four Countries
Author:
Bisagno Elisa1ORCID, Cadamuro Alessia1ORCID, Serafine Dierickx2ORCID, Dima Bou Mosleh2, Anne Groenen2, Zane Linde-Ozola3ORCID, Annija Kandāte4ORCID, Dóra Varga-Sabján5, Dorottya Morva5, Noémi László5, Monika Rozsa5, Andrea Gruber5, Giovanna Laura De Fazio6ORCID, Johanna Maria Catharina Blom17ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy 2. Expertise Centre Resilient People, University Colleges Leuven-Limburg (UCLL), 3001 Leuven, Belgium 3. Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia, LV-1586 Riga, Latvia 4. Center Dardedze, LV-1002 Riga, Latvia 5. Pressley Ridge Hungary Foundation, 1142 Budapest, Hungary 6. Department of Law, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy 7. Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy
Abstract
Child maltreatment is considered a pressing social question, compromising the present and future mental and physical health of one in four children in Europe. While children younger than three years of age are especially vulnerable, few screening instruments are available for the detection of risk in this age group. The purpose of this research was to develop a screening tool for childcare professionals working in public and private daycare settings to support them in the early identification and referral of infants and toddlers exposed to emotional and physical abuse and neglect by primary caregivers, to be used in different settings across four European countries: Belgium, Italy, Latvia, and Hungary. Method: A stratified process was used to create the screening tool: We started by using Living lab methodology to co-create the screening tool with its final users, which was followed by testing the tool with a total of 120 childcare professionals from the four participating countries. Results: During the Living Lab phase, a screening tool with three layers was developed. The initial layer includes five “red flags” that signal particular concern and require immediate action. The second layer is a quick screener with twelve items focused on four areas: neglect of basic needs, delays in development, unusual behaviors, and interaction with caregivers. The third layer is an in-depth questionnaire that aids in formalizing a thorough observation of twenty-five items within the same four areas as the quick screener. After a one-day training session, 120 childcare professionals caring for children aged 0–3 from four countries assessed the screening tool and their overall training experience. Childcare professionals reported great satisfaction with the three-layered structure, which made the tool versatile, and agreed on its content, which was considered helpful in the daycare setting for the regular evaluation of the behavior of children and their primary caregivers, thus improving the early observation of change from the normal behavior of the infant or toddler. Conclusion: The three-layered screening tool was reported as feasible, practical, and with great content validity by childcare professionals working in four European countries.
Funder
Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) Programme of the European Union
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
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