Citation

Bragança-Souza KK, Lopes de Lisboa J, Silva-Oliveira F, Soares Nunes L, Ferreira e Ferreira E, Gomes VE, Zarzar PMPA. Trauma Violence Abuse 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/15248380221150949

PMID

36747372

Abstract

Health professionals play a significant role in identifying and reporting child physical abuse (CPA). However, several studies have pointed out non-reporting behavior among these professionals, evidencing difficulties identifying and reporting suspected cases. This review aimed to explore the frequency and possible barriers in identifying and reporting CPA by health professionals worldwide and to identify associated factors. This scoping review was conducted in the Pubmed, Web Of Science, Scopus, and SciELO databases between July 2019 and December 2020. Analytical and qualitative observational epidemiological studies were selected and published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, with data on the identification and/or reporting of CPA by health professionals. Twenty studies fulfilled the criteria of this review. The studies were conducted with dentists, nurses, pediatricians, and general practitioners. The frequency of identification of CPA ranged from 50% to 89%, while the frequency of reporting ranged from 8% to 47%. This review revealed that health professionals had a low frequency of reporting of CPA, especially for dentists. In addition, several associated factors and barriers in the identification and reporting of CPA were identified in the studies. These were discussed in five main themes: training and continuing education in CPA, impact on professional practice, experiences and perceptions about child protection services, the threshold for suspicion of the professional, and the professional category.

Language: en

Keywords

child abuse; physical abuse; cultural contexts; domestic violence; legal intervention; prevention of child abuse; treatment/intervention