This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Asser, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Swan, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Asser, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Swan, R.
Related Collections
Right arrow Office Practice
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 101 No. 4 April 1998, pp. 625-629

Child Fatalities From Religion-motivated Medical Neglect

Received Jan 13, 1997; accepted Jul 25, 1997.

Seth M. Asser* and Rita SwanDagger

From the * Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, San Diego, California, and Dagger  Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty (CHILD), Inc, Sioux City, Iowa.

Objective.  To evaluate deaths of children from families in which faith healing was practiced in lieu of medical care and to determine if such deaths were preventable.

Design.  Cases of child fatality in faith-healing sects were reviewed. Probability of survival for each was then estimated based on expected survival rates for children with similar disorders who receive medical care.

Participants.  One hundred seventy-two children who died between 1975 and 1995 and were identified by referral or record search. Criteria for inclusion were evidence that parents withheld medical care because of reliance on religious rituals and documentation sufficient to determine the cause of death.

Results.  One hundred forty fatalities were from conditions for which survival rates with medical care would have exceeded 90%. Eighteen more had expected survival rates of >50%. All but 3 of the remainder would likely have had some benefit from clinical help.

Conclusions.  When faith healing is used to the exclusion of medical treatment, the number of preventable child fatalities and the associated suffering are substantial and warrant public concern. Existing laws may be inadequate to protect children from this form of medical neglect.

Key words: child abuse, child neglect, child fatality, Christian Science, faith healing, medical neglect, prayer, religion and medicine.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
C. Jenny and and the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
Recognizing and Responding to Medical Neglect
Pediatrics, December 1, 2007; 120(6): 1385 - 1389.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
C Jenny and R Isaac
The relation between child death and child maltreatment.
Arch. Dis. Child., March 1, 2006; 91(3): 265 - 269.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Child MaltreatHome page
H. Dubowitz, R. R. Newton, A. J. Litrownik, T. Lewis, E. C. Briggs, R. Thompson, D. English, L.-C. Lee, and M. M. Feerick
Examination of a Conceptual Model of Child Neglect
Child Maltreat, May 1, 2005; 10(2): 173 - 189.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
D. Ridgway
Court-Mediated Disputes Between Physicians and Families Over the Medical Care of Children
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, September 1, 2004; 158(9): 891 - 896.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
When Inflicted Skin Injuries Constitute Child Abuse
Pediatrics, September 1, 2002; 110(3): 644 - 645.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
L. L. Barnes, G. A. Plotnikoff, K. Fox, and S. Pendleton
Spirituality, Religion, and Pediatrics: Intersecting Worlds of Healing
Pediatrics, October 1, 2000; 106(4): 899 - 908.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN INTERN MEDHome page
S. G. Post, C. M. Puchalski, and D. B. Larson
Physicians and Patient Spirituality: Professional Boundaries, Competency, and Ethics
Ann Intern Med, April 4, 2000; 132(7): 578 - 583.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]