Our work sparks interest in learning about family violence amongst trainees from numerous disciplines including pediatrics, psychiatry, family practice, psychology, child life, social work, as well as those involved in undergraduate health sciences education. We have developed an innovative and highly regarded approach to educating trainees about these difficult topics resulting in multiple awards for the rotation and faculty. The educational program is comprised of formal and informal 1:1 case-based teaching sessions, online modules and frequent, direct observation of trainees completing clinical assessments followed by direct feedback from faculty. Plans are underway to develop simulation modules to supplement this already robust curriculum.

Our work has established McMaster Children’s Hospital as a regional centre of dependability and excellence in evaluating and assisting families when concerns of child maltreatment have arisen. Team members are regularly consulted by care providers within the hospital’s emergency department, mental health unit, inpatient medical units and outpatient clinics about concerns ranging from physical abuse to medical and other forms of neglect to caregiver fabricated illness to complex child protection agency concerns. In the outpatient setting, the multi-disciplinary team assesses hundreds of children and families each year, most of whom have been referred directly from child protection agencies.

Due to the profound adverse impact of exposure to family violence on the development and emotional well-being of children, the team has established direct clinical and educational linkages with the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre. Our faculty members bring an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach to each consultation and actively promotes the application of this framework with partners throughout the region.

The Division of Child Maltreatment has a strong relationship with the Offord Centre for Child Studies through the family violence research program led by Harriet MacMillan. Among its many achievements, this program recently developed the VEGA (Violence, Evidence, Guidance, and Action) project, an online global resource for educating health-care and social service providers to recognize and safely respond to family violence.