Finding the Victim of Abuse: A New Frontier of Physicians' Liability? Data From a Local Italian Experience on Minor Maltreatment

Family physicians in an Eastern Turkish City need training on child abuse and neglect: A cross-sectional study

Aim

The study's purpose was to determine the knowledge, competencies, and approaches of family physicians in recognizing the signs of child neglect and abuse.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted between 1 March and 30 August 2019 in the Erzurum province in Turkey. The population of the study was family physicians working in primary care. The data were collected with an instrument that included the Scale of Diagnosing the Symptoms and Risks of Child Abuse and Neglect (SDRCAN) and a socio-demographic information form.

Results

The mean age was 37.40 ± 8.78 years (min. 26, max. 60). Of the participants, 103 (n = 58.5%) were men. The most common types of encountered child abuse/neglect were physical abuse or neglect (each 27.8%, n = 49). Having received education on child abuse/neglect among participants was only 44.9% (n = 79). On the other hand, the rate of having encountered any child abuse/neglect was 40.3% (n = 71). Another result of this study is the proportion of family physicians feeling weak regarding history taking (30.7%, n = 54), physical exam (17.0%, n = 30), and cooperation with the authorities (13.1%, n = 23). Additionally, the different responses among the participants about action in case of encountering child abuse/neglect were remarkable. Being a woman was one prominent factor that increased the SDRCAN score (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The awareness and knowledge of family physicians in Erzurum about child maltreatment are inadequate. We recommend focusing on child maltreatment, especially in medical faculties, including this issue in the standard core curriculums, and organizing intermittent in-service training programs during the post-graduate working period.

Female teachers' child abuse reporting role in Oman: Results from focus groups

BACKGROUND

Schoolteachers are in a good position to identify and report suspected child abuse and neglect cases; however, they still fail to report all the cases. Recently, the Sultanate of Oman, which is a collectivistic culture, mandated schoolteachers to report any suspected case. However, there is a lack of evidence known to us about the factors associated with Omani teachers' reporting behavior. Such evidence is needed to inform the interventions that are designed to enhance teachers' reporting behavior.

OBJECTIVE

The current study was designed to address this gap by exploring the factors that affect Omani schoolteachers reporting behavior of suspected child abuse and neglect cases.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A total of 26 participants were recruited from five basic education schools in the Muscat governorate in Oman.

METHODS

This is a descriptive qualitative study. Five focus group discussions were conducted. Thematic coding was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Three themes were discerned from the data analysis. The factors that affect Omani schoolteachers as described by the participants were: 1) reporting within an environment of educational resource scarcity; 2) reporting within an environment of competing female social roles and their professional reporting role; and 3) reporting within an environment of complex and diverse abuse and neglect cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the role of culture in reporting behavior. Implications for research and practice are discussed.