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What tools do we need to improve identification of child abuse?
Author(s) -
Munro Eileen
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
child abuse review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-0852
pISSN - 0952-9136
DOI - 10.1002/car.921
Subject(s) - identification (biology) , task (project management) , process (computing) , information sharing , relation (database) , key (lock) , computer science , work (physics) , data sharing , knowledge management , information and communications technology , internet privacy , psychology , computer security , world wide web , medicine , engineering , data mining , mechanical engineering , botany , alternative medicine , systems engineering , pathology , biology , operating system
Child protection work is being transformed by the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) and other tools to improve frontline work. This article argues that current innovations are being developed without sufficient attention to understanding the needs of frontline workers. Taking the identification of child abuse as an example, the article shows how beginning with the question ‘What tools do we need?’ produces radically different answers from the current proposed tools such as the Information Sharing and Assessment database (ISA). The approach advocated here involves examining what aspects of the task frontline workers find difficult and identifying where they would most appreciate help. In relation to the problem of sharing information between professionals to ensure accurate assessment of risk, it is argued that the key problems do not lie in the technical process of sharing data but in professionals' ability to collect the necessary information, to interpret it accurately and to communicate it clearly. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.