Detecting child abuse based on parental characteristics: Does The Hague Protocol cause parents to avoid the Emergency Department?

•We evaluated the experience of parents with the Hague Protocol; detecting child abuse based on parental characteristics at the ED.•We evaluated whether detecting child abuse based on parental characteristics (Hague Protocol) will lead to parents avoiding the ED.•Implementing a protocol to detect child abuse based on parental characteristics (Hague Protocol) does not lead to parents avoiding medical care.