JingHui Yang
KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore
Title: Integrated Health and Social Service delivery using Trans-disciplinary approach in the prevention of child abuse and neglect, the Singapore Model
Biography
Biography: JingHui Yang
Abstract
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) are known to impact child health and development as well as future adult health. Kids Integrated Development Service 0-3(KIDS0-3) is a pilot preventive early intervention program to mitigate impact of ACES from pregnancy till the child turns 3 years old. The program aims to deliver an integrated health and social home visiting program through a transdisciplinary key-worker model( Fig 1).The key worker is the point of contact in equipping families with skills in parent-child interaction, monitors child health and development and to detect early signs of child neglect. Standardized tools are used for screening of maternal mental health and monitoring of child’s developmental progress. The target populations are low income families with multiple risk factors
Families risk factors are assessed by the Family Advocacy and Support Tool (FAST) and ACES check-list that helps communicate the complexity of the families. After which, a team of professionals comprising paediatricians, social workers, nurses, community health visitors and allied health professionals support the key worker in the transdisciplinary skills. The trans-disciplinary skilled worker is well placed to detect the presence of early signs of infant emotional and physical neglect. KIDS 0-3 collaborate with Child Protection Services (CPS) in using a common tool, Sector Specific Screening Guide (SSSG) and Child Abuse Reporting Guide (CARG) for assessing risk factors in the family environment. By applying this tool, CPS is able to take appropriate action and work with the KIDS0-3 team or community supporting agencies to step up infant protection strategies. In this paper, we illustrate how an integrated Health and Social service for families at risk of neglect and abuse is implemented through a Transdisciplinary key worker approach. To ensure the healthy development of our future generation, the Paediatricians need to understand the social determinant of health factors and skills to practice preventive medicine and advocacy.