Awareness of Health Professionals About Child Abuse and Neglect

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine awareness of health professionals about child abuse and neglect in a public hospital. This study is designed as a descriptive type research. Data from 110 health professionals working in a public hospital, was collected through the use of an “Information Form” and “Scale for Identifying Signs and Risks of Child Abuse and Neglect”. 59,1% of health professionals had not trained about child abuse and neglect in undergraduate period; 98,2 % of subjects had not participated in an education programme about abuse at postgraduate period. 17,3% had experienced with at least one case of suspected abuse. Most participants (74,5%) had no information about hospital procedures about abuse. Among the subgroups in the scale, the highest mean points were recorded in “behavioral signs of abuse and neglect in children”, the lowest mean points were recorded in “characteristics of children susceptible to abuse and neglect”. Mean points of “symptoms of neglect” and “behavioral signs of abuse and neglect in children” subgroups in women were found significantly higher compared with men. In the subgroup defined as “physical signs of abuse in children”, mean points were found significantly higher in doctors compared with nurses. It is determined that the knowledge of health professionals about some aspects of child abuse is not enough. Those may be offered to educate the health professionals, to define the hospital procedures, and to do research defining the matters that influence reporting the abuse.