To quantify the relationship between maternal violent injury and the risk of physical or sexual injury in children.
Approach:
Study Design: Conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies linking maternal violent injury to child injury.
Data Sources: Comprehensive searches of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception through August 7, 2024.
Eligibility Criteria: Included cohort, cross-sectional, or case-control studies; excluded case reports, qualitative syntheses, and studies without clear injury measures.
Outcomes: Primary outcome was the risk of physical injury in children; secondary outcome was sexual injury.
Data Extraction: Standardized forms used for metadata extraction; independent assessments by multiple reviewers to ensure accuracy.
Risk of Bias Assessment: Evaluated using Joanna Briggs Institute tools; classified studies as low, moderate, or high risk.
Key Findings:
Children whose mothers experienced violent injury are at increased risk for physical injury.
The relationship between maternal violent injury and child injury is insufficiently quantified in existing literature.
Systemic obstacles to care and stigma contribute to the underrecognition of violence within families.
Limitations:
Limited comparative data for sexual injury outcomes.
Exclusion of studies without clearly defined injury measures may limit generalizability.
