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April 2004, Vol 94, No. 4 | American Journal of Public Health 586-590
© 2004 American Public Health Association

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

The Economic Burden of Hospitalizations Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect

Sue Rovi, PhD, Ping-Hsin Chen, PhD and Mark S. Johnson, MD, MPH

The authors are with the Department of Family Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Sue L.D. Rovi, 185 S Orange Ave, MSB-B646, Newark, NJ, 07103 (e-mail: rovisl{at}umdnj.edu).

Objectives. This study assessed the economic burden of child abuse–related hospitalizations.

Methods. We compared inpatient stays coded with a diagnosis of child abuse or neglect with stays of other hospitalized children using the 1999 National Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project.

Results. Children whose hospital stays were coded with a diagnosis of abuse or neglect were significantly more likely to have died during hospitalization (4.0% vs 0.5%), have longer stays (8.2 vs 4.0 days), twice the number of diagnoses (6.3 vs 2.8), and double the total charges ($19 266 vs $9513) than were other hospitalized children. Furthermore, the primary payer was typically Medicaid (66.5% vs 37.0%).

Conclusion. Earlier identification of children at risk for child abuse and neglect might reduce the individual, medical, and societal costs.






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