How Can Research and Theory Enhance Understanding of Professional Decision-Making in Reviews of Cases of Child Death and Serious Injury?

Journal article


Gillingham, P. and Whittaker, A. (2022). How Can Research and Theory Enhance Understanding of Professional Decision-Making in Reviews of Cases of Child Death and Serious Injury? The British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac116
AuthorsGillingham, P. and Whittaker, A.
AbstractAbstract In most child protection jurisdictions, a case of child death or serious injury through the actions or inaction of a parent or carer is responded to with an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the death of the child. A key objective of such inquiries is to discern what may have been done by public agencies to prevent the child’s death or serious injury and this may, in turn, lead to changes in existing policies or the development of new policies. Such changes have, at times, been criticised as ‘knee jerk’ reactions and can lead to well-meaning but possibly counter-productive initiatives. A general observation is that, in some inquiry reports, there is little, if any, reference to research and theory about child protection practice and policy. In this article, an anonymised case study of a child death inquiry is used to analyse the decision-making processes of child protection practitioners using a range of theory and research. The aim is to demonstrate how the use of insights from theory and research can lead to an enhanced understanding of the circumstances that led to a child death or serious injury, one which is grounded in current knowledge and evidence.
KeywordsSocial Sciences (miscellaneous); Health (social science)
Year2022
JournalThe British Journal of Social Work
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP)
ISSN0045-3102
1468-263X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac116
Publication dates
Online16 Jun 2022
Publication process dates
Deposited30 Jan 2023
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Permalink -

https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/917x6

Download files


Publisher's version
bcac116.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Open

  • 71
    total views
  • 56
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 3
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Doing public health differently: How can public health departments engage with local communities through social media interventions?
Watkins, M., Mallion, J.S., Frings, D., Wills, J., Sykes, S. and Whittaker, A. (2023). Doing public health differently: How can public health departments engage with local communities through social media interventions? Public Health in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2023.100412
Public health messages during a global emergency through an online community: A discourse and sentiment analysis
Watkins, M., Mallion, J., Frings, D., Wills, J., Sykes, S. and Whittaker, A. (2023). Public health messages during a global emergency through an online community: A discourse and sentiment analysis. Frontiers in Digital Health. 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1130784
Evaluation of the Kent Serious Youth Violence Project
Havard, T., Magill. C., Flood, C., Harvey, D., Shepherd, B., Miller, E. and Whittaker, A. (2023). Evaluation of the Kent Serious Youth Violence Project.
Reluctant Gangsters Revisited
Havard, T. and Whittaker, A. (2023). Reluctant Gangsters Revisited . in: The Palgrave Handbook of Youth Gangs in the UK. Palgrave Macmillan.
Group decision-making theories for child and family social work
Alfandari, R., Taylor, B., Enosh, G., Killick, C., McCafferty, P., Mullineux, J., Przeperski, J., Rölver, M. and Whittaker, A. (2022). Group decision-making theories for child and family social work. European Journal of Social Work. 26 (2), pp. 204-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2021.2016651
Le défi des gangs de jeunes : enjeux et interventions dans le contexte britannique et canadien
Miller, E. and Whittaker, A. (2022). Le défi des gangs de jeunes : enjeux et interventions dans le contexte britannique et canadien. Montreal, Canada University of Montréal Press.
Editorial
Whittaker, A. and Kirwan, G. (2021). Editorial. Journal of Social Work Practice. 35 (4), pp. 333-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2021.1996697
Using intuition in social work decision making
Sicora, A., Taylor, B., Alfandari, R., Enosh, Guy, Helm, Duncan, Killick, C., Lyons, Olive, Mullineux, Judith, Przeperski, J., Rölver, M. and Whittaker, Andrew (2021). Using intuition in social work decision making. European Journal of Social Work. 24 (5), pp. 772-787. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2021.1918066
Evaluation of the Lewisham Trauma Informed Group Work Programme
Whittaker, A., Harvey, D. and Shepherd, B. (2021). Evaluation of the Lewisham Trauma Informed Group Work Programme. London London South Bank University. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31817.67689
Street Gangs and Coercive Control: The Gendered Exploitation of Young Women and Girls in County Lines
Havard, T., Densley, J., Whittaker, A. and Wills, J. (2021). Street Gangs and Coercive Control: The Gendered Exploitation of Young Women and Girls in County Lines . Criminology & Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211051513
How can we help novice child protection social workers to see situations like experienced practitioners? A randomised controlled trial evaluation of the ShadowBox™ method using pre-recorded video feedback
Whittaker, A., Moser, K., Harvey, D. and Brand, M. (2021). How can we help novice child protection social workers to see situations like experienced practitioners? A randomised controlled trial evaluation of the ShadowBox™ method using pre-recorded video feedback. Naturalistic Decision Making and Resilience Engineering Symposium 2021. Toulouse, France 20 - 24 Jun 2021 Naturalistic Decision Making.
Editorial for Volume 35, Issue 2
Whittaker, A. and Kirwan, G. (2021). Editorial for Volume 35, Issue 2. Journal of Social Work Practice. 35 (2), pp. 115-116. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2021.1917825
Editorial
Whittaker, A. and Kirwan, G. (2020). Editorial. Journal of Social Work Practice. 34 (3), pp. 221-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2020.1798098
No two gangs are alike: The digital divide in street gangs’ differential adaptations to social media
Whittaker, A, Densley, J and Moser, KS (2020). No two gangs are alike: The digital divide in street gangs’ differential adaptations to social media. Computers in Human Behavior. 110, pp. 106403-106403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106403
Human Growth and Development An Introduction for Social Workers
Sudbery, J and Whittaker, A (2018). Human Growth and Development An Introduction for Social Workers. Routledge.
Professional Judgement and Decision Making in Social Work Current Issues
Taylor, B and Whittaker, A (2019). Professional Judgement and Decision Making in Social Work Current Issues. London Taylor & Francis.
Reluctant Gangsters Revisited: The Evolution of Gangs from Postcodes to Profits
Whittaker, A, Densley, J, Cheston, L, Tyrell, T, Higgins, M, Felix-Baptiste, C and Havard, T (2019). Reluctant Gangsters Revisited: The Evolution of Gangs from Postcodes to Profits. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-019-09408-4
Introduction to the edited book 'Risk in social work practice: current issues'
Whittaker, AJ and Taylor, B (2018). Introduction to the edited book 'Risk in social work practice: current issues'. in: Whittaker, AJ and Taylor, B (ed.) Risk in Social Work Practice: Current Issues Routledge. pp. 1-133
From Postcodes to Profits: How gangs have changed in Waltham Forest
Whittaker, AJ, Cheston, L, Tyrell, T, Higgins, MM, Felix-Baptiste, C and Harvard, T (2018). From Postcodes to Profits: How gangs have changed in Waltham Forest. London London South Bank University. https://doi.org/10.18744/PUB.002234
How do child protection practitioners make decisions in real life situations? Lessons from the psychology of decision making
Whittaker, AJ (2018). How do child protection practitioners make decisions in real life situations? Lessons from the psychology of decision making. British Journal of Social Work. 48 (7), pp. 1967-1984. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcx145
Protecting children from faith-based abuse through accusations of witchcraft and spirit possession: understanding contexts and informing practice
Whittaker, AJ and Briggs, S (2018). Protecting children from faith-based abuse through accusations of witchcraft and spirit possession: understanding contexts and informing practice. British Journal of Social Work. 48 (8), pp. 2157-2175. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcx155
Professional judgement and decision-making in social work
Taylor, B and Whittaker, AJ (2018). Professional judgement and decision-making in social work. Journal of Social Work Practice. 32 (2), pp. 105-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2018.1462780
Succeeding in literature reviews and research project plans for nursing students
Williamson, GR and Whittaker, AJ (2014). Succeeding in literature reviews and research project plans for nursing students. Learning Matters.
Research skills for social work
Whittaker, AJ (2017). Research skills for social work. Sage.
Media Coverage, Public Awareness and State Intervention in Child Abuse in China – An Analysis of High-Profile Cases
Whittaker, AJ, Qiao, D and Zhang, T (2017). Media Coverage, Public Awareness and State Intervention in Child Abuse in China – An Analysis of High-Profile Cases. Child Abuse Review. 27 (5), pp. 378-388. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2488
Developing the next generation of specialist cancer nurses.
Leary, A, Whittaker, AJ and Hill, A (2017). Developing the next generation of specialist cancer nurses. Cancer Nursing Practice. 16 (9), pp. 25-30. https://doi.org/10.7748/cnp.2017.e1453
Understanding Risk in Social Work
Whittaker, AJ and Taylor, B (2017). Understanding Risk in Social Work. Journal of Social Work Practice. 31 (4), pp. 375-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2017.1397612
European Social Work Research Association SIG to Study Decisions, Assessment, and Risk
Taylor, B, Killick, C, Bertotti, T, Enosh, G, Gautschi, J, Hietamäki, J, Sicora, A and Whittaker, AJ (2017). European Social Work Research Association SIG to Study Decisions, Assessment, and Risk. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work. 15 (1), pp. 82-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/23761407.2017.1394244
Troubled, Troubling or in Trouble: The Stories of ‘Troubled Families’
Wills, JD, Whittaker, AJ, Rickard, W and Felix, C (2016). Troubled, Troubling or in Trouble: The Stories of ‘Troubled Families’. British Journal of Social Work. 47 (4), pp. 989-1006. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcw061
Defensive practice as ‘fear-based’ practice: Social work’s open secret?
Whittaker, AJ and Havard, T (2015). Defensive practice as ‘fear-based’ practice: Social work’s open secret? British Journal of Social Work. 46 (5), pp. 1158-1174. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/BCV048
Safeguarding children’s rights: exploring issues of witchcraft and spirit possession in London’s African communities
Whittaker, A. (2011). Safeguarding children’s rights: exploring issues of witchcraft and spirit possession in London’s African communities. London University of East London.