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Can family pediatricians in Italy identify child abuse? A survey
Lucia Romeo1, Daniele Gibelli, Federica Giannotta
1Soccorso Violenza Sessuale e Domestica (SVSeD) Counseling Service, Cà Granda Scientific Research Foundation, Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy - daniele.gibelli@unimi.it.
Insights
Pediatricians and primary care staff show limited knowledge of child abuse reporting procedures. Enhanced training is crucial for healthcare professionals to effectively identify and manage child maltreatment cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Child Welfare
Background:
- The recognition of child abuse has significantly altered healthcare interactions with children.
- Primary care settings are critical for identifying victims of maltreatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the knowledge and training of healthcare professionals in Milan regarding child abuse.
- To identify gaps in reporting procedures and professional development for child maltreatment.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was distributed to family doctors, pediatricians, and hospitals in Milan and surrounding areas.
- 273 healthcare professionals completed and returned the questionnaires.
Main Results:
- Over half (51.5%) of respondents lacked knowledge on reporting child abuse to judicial authorities.
- Nearly half had not attended child maltreatment-focused events in three years.
- More than 75% reported no professional training in managing child maltreatment.
Conclusions:
- Significant knowledge deficits exist among pediatricians and general practitioners concerning child abuse.
- There is a clear need for comprehensive training programs to improve healthcare provider response to child maltreatment.
Abstract:
The introduction of the concept of child abuse has radically changed the mode of interaction between pediatricians and children, but also the practice of sanitary personnel in primary care centers, who are often the first to see victims of maltreatment. This study aims at illustrating the results of a questionnaire sent to family doctors, pediatricians and hospitals in Milan and surrounding areas concerning child abuse. Among all the operators, 273 returned the questionnaires. The results show scarce knowledge on how to report to judicial authority in cases of child abuse (51.5%), mainly because of lack of basilar information concerning the manner of reporting. For what concerns specific training, almost half the subjects recruited for the study admitted not to have attended any congress or meeting concerning child maltreatment in the last three years. In the same time span, more than one third has not read any scientific articles concerning child abuse. In addition, 75.6% admit to not ever having attended any professional training course concerning child maltreatment. This study highlights the scarce knowledge on the behalf of pediatricians and general practitioners regarding how to deal with child abuse and the importance of proper training programs.
