A Commentary on Recognising and Reducing Bias in Assessment of Suspicious Childhood Injury

Abstract

Introduction This year I published a paper titled Minimising bias in the forensic evaluation of suspicious paediatric injury in issue 34 of the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine [1]. My paper has since been reviewed in the Quarterly Update, a USbased journal on child abuse and neglect, by Professor Robert Block, a wellrespected Child Abuse Pediatrician and immediate past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics [2]. Professor Block had been the first Chair of the newly formed sub-board on Child Abuse Pediatrics and continues to serve on the sub-board, overseeing the training of pediatricians in Child Abuse Pediatrics. He is a regular reviewer of papers relating to professional development for The Quarterly Update. This commentary provides a snap-shot of the highlights in my paper and includes a response to Block’s points raised in The Quarterly Update review.