Tools
Mandatory Reporting Laws
Definition/Introduction
In the United States, mandatory reporting laws establish a legally enforceable duty for those who have contact with vulnerable populations to report to state and local authorities when mistreatment or abuse of those populations is suspected or confirmed. While these laws, and the populations they cover, vary by state, they generally include children, the disabled, and the elderly. Some states also assign this reportable duty to abuse between intimate partners. These laws typically cover neglect, as well as physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse. While those individuals mandated to report also vary by state, they generally include childcare providers, clergy, coaches, counselors, healthcare providers, law enforcement, principals, and teachers.[1][2] In addition to their obligation to report mistreatment of vulnerable patients, healthcare professionals are also required to report certain infectious diseases deemed to be public health hazards to state and local authorities.[3]
Issues of Concern
Register For Free And Read The Full Article
Search engine and full access to all medical articles- 10 free questions in your specialty
- Free CME/CE Activities
- Free daily question in your email
- Save favorite articles to your dashboard
- Emails offering discounts
Learn more about a Subscription to StatPearls Point-of-Care
Issues of Concern
Children
Abuse in the pediatric population is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The mistreatment of children is a serious issue of public health concern, and it affects 1 in 8 children before the age of 18 years. Sadly, studies indicate that homicide is within the top five causes of death for children of every age group.[4] The effects of abuse and neglect do not stop at age 18; however, physical and mental health problems due to abuse as a child can extend far into adulthood.[5] Numerous studies have shown a correlation between adults who experienced abuse as children and the development of a host of adult morbidities, ranging from cardiovascular disease to depression.[6]
Intimate Partners
Intimate partner abuse represents an area of abuse sometimes overlooked when compared to other populations. This abuse, however, is experienced by nearly 1 in 3 women during their lifetime.[7] While women are the chief victims of intimate partner abuse, the issue also affects men, with one study showing men comprising 17% of the victims of intimate partner violence.[8] These populations tend to be seen more frequently outside regular business hours when compared to other abused patients. Like other groups, however, victims are often at significant risk for further, more severe injury if there is no intervention.[9]
Elderly
Abuse and mistreatment are also common among the elderly, with a New England Journal of Medicine study asserting a likely prevalence of 10% of the entire population aged 60 years and above.[10] Elder abuse is made more likely by circumstances facing many elderly patients: poor physical health, functional impairment, and residence in nursing homes. Indeed, those elderly patients residing in nursing homes are at risk of abuse not only from staff but also from other residents.[10] Though frequent, elderly abuse is historically underreported, which has led to the creation of diagnostic tools to aid in its identification.[11][12]
Infectious Diseases
Policymakers are also concerned with the incidence of certain infectious diseases deemed serious public health concerns. As with laws regarding the mandatory reporting of abuse and mistreatment of vulnerable populations, the number and types of mandatory reportable diseases are dependent on the laws of the governing state, though many states adopt the recommended list published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).[3] The CDC regularly publishes updated lists of diseases it recommends for reporting, as this allows the organization to deal with new and novel illnesses as they appear.[13]
Clinical Significance
Healthcare providers have an important ethical and legal role in identifying and reporting abuse in children and other vulnerable populations to their appropriate state agencies. These are issues profoundly affecting the health and well being of a significant portion of the population. In the clinical setting, the most common form of maltreatment reported by healthcare professionals is neglect, which can encompass medical, nutritional, physical, or emotional neglect.[14] These situations are not merely theoretical; for instance, with an estimated 37% of all American children involved with Child Protective Services by the age of 18, many healthcare professionals will deal with these issues frequently in their practice.[15]
In the assessment of suspected abuse, the healthcare provider should obtain a complete history, perform a full physical examination, obtain appropriate laboratory analyses, and contact the proper authorities.[16][5] Given the fact that each state has different laws, familiarity with the mandatory reporting laws of one’s state is critically important for any healthcare provider.[2] Failure to follow the reporting laws of the state may result in criminal sanctions for the provider, and may even impart civil negligence liability in some jurisdictions. In contrast, providers are not generally liable for reporting suspicious situations subsequently found to be benign.[17]
Regarding the reporting of infectious diseases, the obligation to report certain diseases may be viewed as an obligation of the healthcare provider to the broader community imposed by public policy. Unfortunately, there is significant evidence that many diseases go underreported. Underreporting is likely multifactorial, but may generally be attributable to lack of sufficient knowledge of reportable diseases and confusion with the reporting process in general.[18] Here again, a healthcare provider must know their relevant state laws.
Nursing, Allied Health, and Interprofessional Team Interventions
Training on recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect is critical to health professional education and patient safety.[19] Such training should apply to all types of healthcare professionals, as each owes a legal duty to report these cases. Systemically, the chances of missing cases of abuse and neglect are minimized if all types of healthcare professionals have similar training regarding recognition of the issue.
The health care team should coordinate with other professionals and community agencies in providing proper treatment and resources to the victimized patient.[5] Similarly, an interprofessional approach is important for the identification of reportable diseases to lessen the risk of underreporting. Reporting these diseases is critical to public health efforts to stem their growth, and ultimately, to allow for their eradication. Such ambitious goals require the participation and coordination of knowledgeable professionals dedicated to their patients and their communities.
References
Liu BCC, Vaughn MS. Legal and policy issues from the United States and internationally about mandatory reporting of child abuse. International journal of law and psychiatry. 2019 May-Jun:64():219-229. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.03.007. Epub 2019 May 10 [PubMed PMID: 31122633]
. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 758: Promoting Healthy Relationships in Adolescents. Obstetrics and gynecology. 2018 Nov:132(5):e213-e220. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002945. Epub [PubMed PMID: 30629568]
Level 3 (low-level) evidenceRoush S, Birkhead G, Koo D, Cobb A, Fleming D. Mandatory reporting of diseases and conditions by health care professionals and laboratories. JAMA. 1999 Jul 14:282(2):164-70 [PubMed PMID: 10411198]
Jenny C, Isaac R. The relation between child death and child maltreatment. Archives of disease in childhood. 2006 Mar:91(3):265-9 [PubMed PMID: 16492892]
Christian CW, Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, American Academy of Pediatrics. The evaluation of suspected child physical abuse. Pediatrics. 2015 May:135(5):e1337-54. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-0356. Epub [PubMed PMID: 25917988]
Batten SV, Aslan M, Maciejewski PK, Mazure CM. Childhood maltreatment as a risk factor for adult cardiovascular disease and depression. The Journal of clinical psychiatry. 2004 Feb:65(2):249-54 [PubMed PMID: 15003081]
Valpied J, Hegarty K. Intimate partner abuse: identifying, caring for and helping women in healthcare settings. Women's health (London, England). 2015 Jan:11(1):51-63. doi: 10.2217/whe.14.59. Epub [PubMed PMID: 25581055]
Hackenberg EAM, Sallinen V, Koljonen V, Handolin L. Severe intimate partner violence affecting both young and elderly patients of both sexes. European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society. 2017 Jun:43(3):319-327. doi: 10.1007/s00068-016-0646-9. Epub 2016 Mar 2 [PubMed PMID: 26936195]
Hackenberg EAM, Sallinen V, Handolin L, Koljonen V. Victims of Severe Intimate Partner Violence Are Left Without Advocacy Intervention in Primary Care Emergency Rooms: A Prospective Observational Study. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2021 Aug:36(15-16):7832-7854. doi: 10.1177/0886260519837649. Epub 2019 Mar 27 [PubMed PMID: 30913955]
Level 2 (mid-level) evidenceLachs MS, Pillemer KA. Elder Abuse. The New England journal of medicine. 2015 Nov 12:373(20):1947-56. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1404688. Epub [PubMed PMID: 26559573]
Berg N, Beaulieu M, Oudewater M, Langhendries D, Giet D. [Elder abuse: practice issues for physicians]. Revue medicale de Liege. 2014 May-Jun:69(5-6):382-9 [PubMed PMID: 25065250]
Yaffe MJ, Tazkarji B. Understanding elder abuse in family practice. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien. 2012 Dec:58(12):1336-40, e695-8 [PubMed PMID: 23242889]
Level 3 (low-level) evidenceDanila RN, Laine ES, Livingston F, Como-Sabetti K, Lamers L, Johnson K, Barry AM. Legal Authority for Infectious Disease Reporting in the United States: Case Study of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. American journal of public health. 2015 Jan:105(1):13-18 [PubMed PMID: 25393187]
Level 3 (low-level) evidenceJackson AM, Kissoon N, Greene C. Aspects of abuse: recognizing and responding to child maltreatment. Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care. 2015 Mar:45(3):58-70. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2015.02.001. Epub 2015 Mar 11 [PubMed PMID: 25771266]
Kim H, Wildeman C, Jonson-Reid M, Drake B. Lifetime Prevalence of Investigating Child Maltreatment Among US Children. American journal of public health. 2017 Feb:107(2):274-280. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303545. Epub 2016 Dec 20 [PubMed PMID: 27997240]
Jenny C, Crawford-Jakubiak JE, Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, American Academy of Pediatrics. The evaluation of children in the primary care setting when sexual abuse is suspected. Pediatrics. 2013 Aug:132(2):e558-67. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-1741. Epub 2013 Jul 29 [PubMed PMID: 23897912]
Level 2 (mid-level) evidenceBlack L. Liability for failure to report child abuse. The virtual mentor : VM. 2007 Dec 1:9(12):819-22. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2007.9.12.hlaw1-0712. Epub 2007 Dec 1 [PubMed PMID: 23228644]
Rubio-Cirilo L, Martín-Ríos MD, de Las Casas-Cámara G, Andrés-Prado MJ, Rodríguez-Caravaca G. [Notifiable infectious diseases: knowledge and notification among hospital physicians]. Enfermedades infecciosas y microbiologia clinica. 2013 Dec:31(10):643-8. doi: 10.1016/j.eimc.2012.12.015. Epub 2013 Feb 22 [PubMed PMID: 23462466]
Level 2 (mid-level) evidenceSonney J, Willgerodt M, Lindhorst T, Brock D. Elizabeth: Typical or Troubled Teen? A Training Case for Health Professionals to Recognize and Report Child Maltreatment. MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources. 2018 Apr 27:14():10712. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10712. Epub 2018 Apr 27 [PubMed PMID: 30800912]
Level 3 (low-level) evidence