medical child abuse
What to know
Medical child abuse refers to a guardian subjecting a minor to unnecessary or even adverse care. The guardian may “fabricate or exaggerate the child’s medical history, induce an illness, or combine these acts,” according to the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
Signs of medical child abuse can include:
- Symptoms that are inconsistent or that are observed by only one parent
- Unresponsiveness to treatment
- Symptoms that retrogress at home and improve at the hospital
- The treatment of more than one child for rare diseases
- Contamination found in a child’s body fluids
- A parent being insistent on multiple invasive procedures, and not being relieved if no evidence of malady is found
The Journal of Pediatric Health Care calls it “rare but potentially deadly,” with a morbidity rate of 100 percent for complications and disabilities and a mortality rate as high as 9 percent. Researchers are still trying to learn more about perpetrators of medical child abuse.
Factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), formerly known by the diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, is considered a form of medical child abuse and is a crime. In this case, the victim is often a child under the age of 6, although victims can also include elderly people and people with disabilities, Cleveland Clinic reports.
Some in the medical community and parents’ advocates at organizations like Parents’ Medical Rights Group are questioning the rising rate of diagnosis — and potential misdiagnosis — by doctors of medical child abuse, with the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Seattle Times covering specific cases in their regions. Research has shown that accusations of child abuse and Child Protective Services investigations are disproportionately directed at Black, Indigenous, and multiracial parents.
If covering suspected medical child abuse, it’s important to be specific about the allegations and symptoms, and to keep in mind how you’re weighting the words of sources (for instance, quoting a doctor who is familiar with the signs of medical child abuse but has no direct knowledge of the case at hand). As with any allegations, it’s a best practice to give the target of the allegations an opportunity to respond. Keep in mind that there is generally a higher bar for publishing identifying details about minor children. The term factitious disorder imposed on another may not be familiar to all audiences, so some explanation adds helpful context.
Additional resources
- Investigating Medical Child Abuse (FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin)
- Overview – Fabricated or induced illness (National Health Service)
- Medical child abuse — like that alleged in Olivia Gant case — is rare and hard to identify, experts say (Denver Post)
- When medical problems are mistaken for child abuse (Seattle Times)
Summary
Medical child abuse refers to a guardian subjecting a minor to unnecessary or even adverse care. Research has shown that accusations of child abuse and Child Protective Services investigations are disproportionately directed at Black, Indigenous, and multiracial parents. If covering suspected medical child abuse, it’s important to be specific about the allegations and symptoms, and to keep in mind how you’re weighting the words of sources. As with any allegations, it’s a best practice to give the target of the allegations an opportunity to respond. Keep in mind that there is generally a higher bar for publishing identifying details about minor children.