Evaluation of Healthcare Professionals' Approach to Child Abuse and Neglect**

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 2 Sayı: 2, 50 - 55, 30.04.2021

Itır Erkan

Öz

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the awareness of
healthcare providers about child abuse and to propose solutions
by identifying possible problems.
Material and Methods: In this study was administered to 256
healthcare providers who were in charge in three private hospitals in Istanbul and who accepted to study between January
and July 2017.
Results: When examining the status of education for child
abuse and neglect during the education of healthcare providers
participating in the study; 60% of midwives, 49% of nurses, 70%
of doctors and 18% of health professionals specified that they
had an education. Nevertheless, 38% of midwives, 58% of nurses, 71% of doctors and 87% of healthcare professionals stated
that they did not have enough education. They have stated that
about 30% of midwives and nurses have not reported in the past
five years, despite the fact that child abuse and neglect confronts
the suspected event. It was also found that approximately 80% of
midwives, nurses and healthcare professionals who participated
in the study were not sufficiently knowledgeable about Shaken
baby and Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Discussion and Conclusion: The results show that the education was not enough on this issue. In this respect, it is suggested
that education programs for the healthcare providers and administrators on child abuse and forensic nursing issues should
be arranged to overcome the shortcomings in this issue.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Child abuse, health institutions, forensic sciences

Kaynakça

• 1. Polat O. [Child abuse in all dimensions I], Seçkin Yayıncılık, Ankara, 2007. [Turkish]
• 2. Crume T, DiGuiseppi C, Byers T, Sirootnak A, Garret C. Underascertainment of child maltreatment fatalities by death certificates, 1990-1998. Pediatrics, 2002; 110(2): 1-6.
• 3. Herman M. Bronderascetainment of child abuse mortality in United States. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1999; 282(1):463-467.
• 4. Oral R, Can D, Kaplan S, Polat S, Ates N, Cetin G et al. Child abuse in Turkey: an experience in overcoming denial and a description of 50 cases. Child Abuse Negl. 2001; 25(1):279-90.
• 5. Cheung KM. Developing the interview protocol for video-recorded child sexual abuse investigations: a training experience with police officers, social workers, and clinical psychologists in Hong Kong. Child Abus Negl. 1997; 21(1):273-284.
• 6. Guadagno B, Powell M, Wright R. Police officers' and legal profession als' perceptions regarding how children are, and should be, questioned about repeated abuse psychiatry. Psychol Law. 2006; 13(1):251-260.
• 7. Karatas Arslan Z, Erkan I. Evaluation of knowledge levels of emergency service staff in forensic case management. Turkish Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2016; 15(2), 7-12.
• 8. Lavigne JL, Portwood SG, Warren-Findlow J, Brunner Huber LR. Pediatric inpatient nurses’ perceptions of child maltreatment. J Pediatr Nurs. 2017;34:17–22.
• 9. Lee HM, Kim JS. Predictors of intention of reporting child abuse among emergency nurses. J Pediatr Nurs. 2018;38:e47–e52
• 10. İnanıcı, S. Y., Çelik, E., Hıdıroğlu, S., Özdemir, M., & İnanıcı, M. A. Factors associated with physicians’ assessment and manage ment of child abuse and neglect: A mixed method study. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 2020; 101972.
• 11. Borres MP, Hagg A. Child abuse study among Swedish physicians and medical students. Pediatr Int, 2007; 49(1): 177-182.
• 12. Theodore AD, Runyan DK. A survey of pediatricians’ attitudes and experiences with court in cases of child maltreatment. Child Abuse Negl. 2006;30(1):1353-1363.
• 13. Al-Moosa A, Al-Shaiji J, Al-Fadhli A, Al-Bayed K, Adib SM. Pediatricians' knowledge, attitudes and experience regarding child maltreatment in Kuwait. Child Abuse and Negl. 2003; 27(10):1161–1178.
• 14. McClure RJ, Davis PM, Meadow SR, Sibert JR. Epidemiology of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, non-accidental poisoning, and non-accidental suffocation. Arch Dis Child 1996; 75(1):57-61. 15. Blumenthal I. Shaken baby syndrome. Postgradmad 2002; 78(1):732-735.
• 16. Jenny C, Hymel KP, Ritzen A, Reinert A, Hay TC. Analysis of missed case of abusive head trauma. JAMA, 1999; 281(7): 621-626.
• 17. Laurent-Vannier A, Chevignard M. Abusive head trauma, healthcare, and childhood professionals' lack of knowledge is detrimental to the child's interest. Arch Pediatr. 2019;26(4):199-204.
• 18. Hunchak C. Safe Babies New York: The Upstate New York Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) Education Program. In: Volpe R. (eds) Casebook of Traumatic Injury Prevention. Springer, 2020.
• 19. Otterman G, Palusci, VJ. Abusive head trauma: recognition, response and prevention. Child abuse review, 2020; 29(3), 171-181.