Child abuse: the nurse and prevention.

As professional practitioners, nurses can promote prevention by becoming knowledgeable about all aspects of the phenomenon of child abuse, by carefully scrutinizing their own beliefs and values, and by monitoring their own behavior. By careful use of the problem-solving approach in their practices they can effectively intervene in potentially problematic situations. As citizens who have more complete and accurate information than their lay counterparts, they can be vital resources. They can support movements and legislation that seek to establish methods for preventing child neglect and abuse, and where neither movements nor legislation exists, they can promote both. Finally, nurses can promote and participate in relevant research that will continue to identify causes and seek solutions.