International Adoption of Children with Special Needs in Spain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15713634 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alicia Hernanz‐Lobo (0000-0002-9560-9104, Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Arantxa Berzosa (0000-0002-3324-6520, Instituto de Salud Carlos III), Lucía Escolano (Hospital Universitario La Paz), Sara Pérez Muñoz (Hospital Universitario de Torrejón), Nathalia Gerig (Hospital Universitario La Paz), Talía Sainz (0000-0002-5301-0945, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, corresponding author), María José Mellado (0000-0003-2251-9666, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research), Milagros García López Hortelano (0000-0002-5028-1029, Instituto de Salud Carlos III) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 690-690 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Children (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-9067 • E-ISSN: 2227-9067 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/children10040690 |
| PMID | 37189939 |
| OpenAlex | W4362608473 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
International adoption has declined in recent years, although the adoption of children with special needs has arisen. We aim to describe our experience in the international adoption of children with special needs and to analyze the concordance between the pathologies included in pre-adoption reports and the diagnosis made upon arrival. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study including internationally adopted children with special needs evaluated at a reference Spanish unit between 2016 and 2019. Epidemiological and clinical variables were collected from medical records, and pre-adoption reports were compared to established diagnoses following their evaluation and complementary tests. Fifty-seven children were included: 36.8% females, a median age of 27 months [IQR:17-39], mostly coming from China (63.2%) and Vietnam (31.6%). The main pathologies described in the pre-adoption reports were congenital surgical malformations (40.3%), hematological (22.6%), and neurological (24.6%). The initial diagnosis that motivated the international adoption via special needs was confirmed in 79% of the children. After evaluation, 14% were diagnosed with weight and growth delay, and 17.5% with microcephaly, not previously reported. Infectious diseases were also prevalent (29.8%). According to our series, the pre-adoption reports of children with special needs appear accurate, with a low rate of new diagnoses. Pre-existing conditions were confirmed in almost 80% of cases
Business · Special needs · Child Welfare and Adoption · Family and Disability Support Research · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |