Citation

Albaek AU, Binder PE, Milde AM. Qual. Health Res. 2019; ePub(ePub): 1049732318825145.

Affiliation

NORCE Research Health, Bergen, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1049732318825145

PMID

30674238

Abstract

Comprehending professionals' emotional challenges when addressing child abuse can help to improve identification, protection, and care for exposed children. This study presents an interpretive description analysis of qualitative interviews with ten child protective services workers and nine child mental health services psychologists in Norway. The participants described intense negative reactions due to addressing child abuse during assessments and investigations. We identified five main themes: (a) facing children's suffering caused by adults, (b) feeling mean, (c) doubting one's ability and skills, (d) feeling that one is betraying children, and (e) being obstructed by heavy workload and dysfunctional structure. To improve professionals' capacity to help exposed children, it is necessary to change the organizational structure and culture. In addition, professionals would benefit from systematic training in handling complexity and in efficient emotion regulation. Finally, we strongly suggest that institutions responsible for investigating child abuse facilitate and prioritize deliberate practice for their staff.

Language: en

Keywords

Norway; child abuse; child welfare workers; exploration; health care professionals; interpretive description analysis; qualitative