Development of Standardized Clinical Training Cases for Diagnosis of Sexual Abuse Using a Secure Telehealth Application

• NCJ Number: 238314
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2012 Pages: 149-155
• Author(s): Lori D. Frasier; Ioana Thraen; Rich Kaplan; Patricia Goede
• Date Published: February 2012
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): HD 052329
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study developed a standardized set of child sexual abuse cases to be used for training health care professionals using a secure Web-based telehealth application.

Abstract

A panel of 6 expert/peer reviewers reviewed 60 cases of alleged child sexual abuse to determine whether a set of cases could be found in which the outcomes of the evaluations were clear based on expert consensus. From the 60 cases, 30 were identified with the highest degree of inter-rater reliability among the experts. These 30 cases were found to contain moderate to comprehensive information regarding the alleged abuse. The findings also indicate that cases with minimal amounts of data result in a greater degree of variability in diagnostic findings. The primary focus of this study was to develop a standardized set of child sexual abuse cases for use in training health care professionals using a secure Web-based telehealth application. The 30 cases selected for inclusion in the set were chosen through an expert peer review process using pediatricians with extensive experience in the evaluation of child sexual abuse. The purpose of the cases is to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of health care professionals in sexual abuse medical evaluations. Tables, figures, and references