Review question/objective The objective of this review is to synthesize the best available evidence regarding the effectiveness of methods in identifying child maltreatment in social and health care settings. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include social welfare and health care settings, as well as others where children and their families visit (including child welfare clinics, maternity clinics, schools, nursery schools and day-care, physicians' reception, children's and adolescents' wards at hospital and child protection) and professionals (including nurses, public health nurses, school health nurses, physicians, social workers, nursery and other school teachers, physiotherapists, speech therapists and psychologists) who take care of children, adolescents and their families in those settings. Also children (up to 18 years of age) and families themselves will be considered as participants. Types of interventions This review will consider studies that evaluate methods designed to identify physical or psychological abuse and/or neglect of children aged up to 18 years of age, including screening tools, questionnaires, discussion with families, observations, home visits, physical and psychological examination, risk evaluation and other kinds of multi-professional working practices targeted at identifying child maltreatment or evaluation of the family situation. Identifying child maltreatment is the main issue and is followed by intervening in the situation. Comparator: No intervention or usual care. Usual care here means that the professionals do not identify maltreatment or risk of it, they just do those tasks they usually do, such as vaccinating children, routine follow-up of growth and development of a child; taking care of their wounds or bruises etc., without thinking that those may be consequences of child maltreatment. Types of outcomes This review will consider studies that include the following outcome measures: confirmed or accurate occurrence of child maltreatment (physical, psychological abuse or neglect). For example family home circumstances and their living conditions, diagnosis of physical abuse or observation of neglect, delay in the development of the child physically or mentally, risk behavior by parents (physically or psychologically abusive). As an outcome there may also be ‘no identification’.