Interdisciplinary education in child abuse and neglect

Area of Science:

• Child Welfare
• Medical Social Work
• Legal Studies

Background:

• Growing need for professionals to address child abuse and neglect.
• Importance of early identification and intervention in child protection.
• Lack of interdisciplinary training in child abuse and neglect.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the objectives, content, and methodology of a graduate interdisciplinary course on child abuse and neglect.
• To evaluate the short-term impact of the course on students' understanding and interdisciplinary communication.
• To provide insights based on the experience of two course offerings.

Main Methods:

• Structured graduate interdisciplinary course.
• Targeted students from diverse professional backgrounds (law, medicine, social work, education).
• Course content focused on understanding, identification, treatment, and follow-up of child abuse and neglect.

Main Results:

• Students gained insight into the dynamics of child abuse and neglect.
• Encouraged interdisciplinary communication among students from various professional fields.
• Positive short-term evaluation of the course's effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The interdisciplinary course effectively enhances students' knowledge of child abuse and neglect.
• Fostering early career interdisciplinary communication is crucial for child protection.
• The course model provides a valuable framework for future professional training in child welfare.