Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Mar 22;103(12):e37548. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037548.
Child abuse, by definition parents and other family members, caregivers, or any adult he does not know culturally inappropriate, harmful to the child described, inhibiting growth and development, or exposure to a restrictive behavior. This study aims to evaluate the capabilities of pediatricians and pedodontists in identifying and managing child abuse and neglect within healthcare settings, a crucial responsibility for professionals across various medical disciplines. Questionnaire was performed on 53 pediatricians and 89 pedodontists. Utilizing a 28-item expert-designed electronic questionnaire, the study solicited responses from pediatricians and pedodontists to assess their demographic characteristics, professional experience, and self-perceived competence in this critical area. The results indicate that 42% of the participating healthcare providers have encountered at least one case of child abuse and neglect. Notably, pedodontists displayed a higher level of uncertainty in identifying abuse and neglect cases compared to pediatricians. Furthermore, participants who had a higher level of self-perceived competence were significantly more willing to identify and manage cases, although this self-assessment did not correlate with their actual skills or level of willingness to intervene effectively. The study concludes that there is a pressing need for specialized training programs tailored to enhance the skill sets of healthcare providers in identifying and managing child abuse and neglect. These programs should encompass not only academic knowledge but also practical applications and psychosocial support techniques to ensure a holistic approach to combating this serious issue.
儿童虐待是指父母和其他家庭成员、照顾者或任何不了解文化背景的成年人对儿童进行不适当、有害的描述、抑制其生长和发育的行为，或对其进行限制。本研究旨在评估儿科医生和儿童牙医在医疗环境中识别和管理儿童虐待和忽视的能力，这是跨各种医学学科专业人员的重要责任。研究人员对 53 名儿科医生和 89 名儿童牙医进行了问卷调查。研究采用了由专家设计的 28 项电子问卷，以评估他们的人口统计学特征、专业经验和在这一关键领域的自我感知能力。结果表明，42%的参与医疗保健提供者至少遇到过一起儿童虐待和忽视的案例。值得注意的是，与儿科医生相比，儿童牙医在识别虐待和忽视案件方面表现出更高的不确定性。此外，自我感知能力较高的参与者更愿意识别和处理病例，尽管这种自我评估与他们的实际技能或有效干预的意愿水平并不相关。研究得出结论，迫切需要针对医疗保健提供者的专门培训计划，以增强他们识别和管理儿童虐待和忽视的技能。这些计划不仅应包括学术知识，还应包括实践应用和社会心理支持技术，以确保采取整体方法来解决这一严重问题。
