Improving knowledge of emergency physicians about child physical and sexual abuse

The purpose of this project was to study the effect of self-instructional programs regarding physical and sexual abuse on the knowledge and case recognition of physicians. Data from a total of 191 emergency physicians revealed significant improvements from pre- to posttests, as well as increases in case recognition skills. More than 90% of physicians using each kit reported that the information had been valuable and that they would recommend the program to a colleague. The finding that knowledge mastery was high, combined with the recommendations of participating physicians, suggests that the programs tested are promising tools for educating emergency physicians about child physical and sexual abuse.