Eberhardt Anna, Hoffmann Ulrike, Fegert Jörg M, Berthold Oliver
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner Site Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 31;13:1588110. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1588110. eCollection 2025.
Protecting children from maltreatment is an important public health challenge. Despite increasing awareness, deficits exist in the training of healthcare professionals, who play a key role in the detection of maltreatment. Initiatives such as the medical child protection helpline and the online course "Child Protection in Medicine - a basic course for all healthcare professions" have been established in Germany to improve knowledge and competence among healthcare professionals. This study examines how collaboration between the two programs contributes to strengthening expertise and practice in child protection.
Since 2016, the online course has offered flexible training for healthcare professionals on child protection. From 2017, the helpline has offered free 24/7 advice for healthcare professionals on suspected cases of child maltreatment. Both measures are evaluated about effectiveness and user satisfaction. The data analysis was conducted using descriptive analyses and tests.
The helpline received a total of 4,911 calls between 2017 and 2024, mainly from physicians (61.7%) and psychotherapists (26.4%). The number of calls continuously increased. Most calls were made during working hours. The advice provided included assessments of maltreatment cases, legal issues, and referrals. The online course was used by 3,493 health professionals. Before the training, 90.5% of the participants stated that they needed more knowledge about child protection and 95.2% requested more flexible training. After the course, knowledge improved significantly, especially among unlicensed therapists (Cohen's = 1.8), medical students ( = 1.5) and nurses ( = 1.5). On the other hand, action competencies increased significantly across all professional groups. Of the participants, 40.3% were familiar with the helpline before the training.
This study finds that the helpline and the online course together strengthen professionals' knowledge and action competencies in medical child protection. The high utilization of both services highlights existing knowledge gaps and the need for training. The increasing number of calls to the helpline underscores its relevance as a quick point of contact. The combination of individual counseling and structured training can improve child protection expertise comprehensively. An expansion of training and support services remains essential.
保护儿童免受虐待是一项重大的公共卫生挑战。尽管人们的认识不断提高，但在对医疗保健专业人员的培训方面仍存在不足，而他们在发现虐待行为方面起着关键作用。德国已推出了诸如儿童医疗保护热线和在线课程“医学中的儿童保护——所有医疗保健专业的基础课程”等举措，以提高医疗保健专业人员的知识和能力。本研究探讨了这两个项目之间的合作如何有助于加强儿童保护方面的专业知识和实践。
自2016年以来，该在线课程为医疗保健专业人员提供了关于儿童保护的灵活培训。自2017年起，热线为医疗保健专业人员提供了关于疑似儿童虐待案件的全天候免费咨询服务。对这两项措施的有效性和用户满意度进行了评估。数据分析采用描述性分析和测试。
2017年至2024年期间，热线共接到4911个电话，主要来自医生（61.7%）和心理治疗师（26.4%）。电话数量持续增加。大多数电话是在工作时间拨打的。提供的咨询包括对虐待案件的评估、法律问题和转诊。3493名卫生专业人员使用了该在线课程。在培训前，90.5%的参与者表示他们需要更多关于儿童保护的知识，95.2%的参与者要求提供更灵活的培训。课程结束后，知识水平有了显著提高，尤其是在无执照治疗师（科恩效应量=1.8）、医学生（效应量=1.5）和护士（效应量=1.5）中。另一方面，所有专业群体的行动能力都有显著提高。在参与者中，40.3%在培训前就知道该热线。
本研究发现，热线和在线课程共同加强了专业人员在儿童医疗保护方面的知识和行动能力。这两项服务的高利用率凸显了现有的知识差距以及培训的必要性。热线电话数量的增加凸显了其作为快速联系点的相关性。个性化咨询和结构化培训相结合可以全面提高儿童保护专业知识。扩大培训和支持服务仍然至关重要。
