โ Scribed by Peckover, Sue (editor);Smith, Suzanne (editor)
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Globally and nationally, the high numbers of children and young people affected by child abuse and neglect are increasing as knowledge and understanding about the phenomena grow, and the escalating cost measured in fiscal, social and health terms is recognised. The World Health Organisation (1998) has emphasised the need to apply a public health perspective to child abuse and neglect. In the UK, the 2010 Government White Paper Health Lives, Healthy People heralds '. . . a new era for public health' (Department of Health, 2010, p. 4), emphasising the importance of early intervention and prevention. Mention is made of the need to protect children at both primary and tertiary levels and a vision of child protection services working closely with public health at a local government level is outlined. The final report of the Munro Review of Child Protection (Munro, 2011) points to the need for an upstream approach in the response to child maltreatment which not only reacts '. . .to incidents of maltreatment but to put in place measures to reduce their incidence in the first place' (p. 16). In short, safeguarding children has become a public health issue.
Addressing the problem of child abuse and neglect through the lens of public health focuses attention on the 'bigger picture', through the adoption of a population rather than an individual perspective. The 'new' public health embraces both the scientific/ medical model to explain the disease process, focusing on diagnosis and treatment, and also the use of social policy interventions to prevent its occurrence. It embraces both resource elements with the epidemiological approach to underpin decisions and interventions and also activities undertaken by organisations, professionals, communities, families and individuals which promote health. Thus, a public health model incorporates a wide range of interventions including some focused upon the whole
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