Citation

Russell M, Lazenbatt A, Freeman R, Marcenes W. Br. J. Community Nurs. 2004; 9(8): 332-338.

Affiliation

School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Mark Allen Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15365472

Abstract

The objectives of this cross-sectional survey were to assess primary health professionals' perceptions of and ability to recognize child physical abuse in their practice. A random sample was taken of 979 nurses, doctors, and dentists working in primary care in Northern Ireland. The response rate was 44%, and the results showed that 59% of respondents had seen a suspicious case of child physical abuse, of which 47% (n = 201) had reported it. Ability and willingness to recognize and report abuse varied across the three professions. The findings suggest a professional reluctance to engage in recognizing and reporting abuse. The barriers could be reduced by providing multi-professional and inter-agency training, support for the primary health professionals in practice, as well as higher education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for nursing, dentistry and medicine.

Language: en