Improving Professional Practice On Child Abuse

The IPPOCA project (Improving Professional Practice On Child Abuse) was funded by DG Justice – European Commission under the Daphne III programme. It was led by the Meyer Children’s Hospital in Florence (IT), with the following partners: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona (ES), Heim Pál Children Hospital in Budapest (HU), HOPE, the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation in Brussels (BE), and UniTS, Università del Terzo Settore in Pisa (IT)

The project began in June 2013. The goals of IPPOCA were to enhance the skills of health professionals working in pediatric hospitals and to improve their knowledge and practices implemented in case of suspected child abuse. IPPOCA created a manual based on the replies to a questionnaire set up in order to get a comprehensive picture of procedures already implemented by the three partner hospitals. The content focused on identifying whether protocols are already in place, who detects the suspect, who has to report it, how it is treated, and if and how other professionals are involved. An annex listing the best practices in use that emerged from the questionnaire was attached to the manual. Furthermore, training materials were prepared and implemented during lessons organised by partner hospitals for their own professionals as well as others.

The goal was to improve health professionals’ skills in recognising child abuse, and also share a common method that can be applied in other settings.

IPPOCA concluded in 2015.