NCJ Number
246795
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2014 Pages: 488-497
Date Published
March 2014
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed the Internet blogs of mothers in three cases diagnosed in the Seattle Children's Hospital as involving caregiver-fabricated illness in a child.
Abstract
When the three blogs were analyzed together, some common themes emerged. First, when compared with the medical records, the blogging patterns in all three cases show exaggeration and misrepresentation of the child's symptoms. Second, all three mothers represented their children as critically ill and nearing death. Third, the blogs often stimulated concerned responses from online readers of the blogs. Fourth, all of the blogs posted graphic images of the child's medical interventions, including images of incision sites and medical equipment. Fifth, the tone of the blogs was often critical of the children's medical providers, focusing on their inability to diagnose a rare or unique disease. Sixth, two of the blogs solicited assistance for their children from "Wish" organizations, and one family established several separate sites in order to receive monetary donations. These three cases illustrate the potential usefulness of expanding the domain of evidence of suspected caregiver fabricated illness in their children. 2 tables and 25 references