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Consequences of child abuse in a hospital in Maracaibo-Venezuela

Abstract:

Child abuse is a serious social and health problem with a prevalence of 30% in Latin America. The objective of the present investigation is to determine the consequences of child abuse in the General Hospital of the South of Maracaibo-Venezuela. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, with an intentional non-probabilistic sample of 110 children, instruments were applied for the classification of child abuse, severity of abuse by omission, notification of severity level, social stratification, family functional status and consequences Psychological studies between January 2010 and December 2016. The results establish that child abuse represents an adverse experience at home with a high frequency of physical violence, severe family dysfunction and extreme poverty, which causes child malnutrition, low self-esteem, aggressiveness, sadness, poor school performance and sexually transmitted infections. In conclusion, child abuse at home produces serious biopsychosocial consequences, which have an impact on physical and emotional health, and therefore, requires medical, psychological and legal intervention, which fosters corporate social responsibility, for the economic support of family orientation and mediation programs, allowing women and children a happy life free of violence.