@article{ref1,
title="Barriers to identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect experienced by medical officers and nursing staff in emergency departments of the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District",
journal="Emergency medicine Australasia",
year="2023",
author="Soh, Huei Ti and Bhurawala, Habib and Poulton, Alison and Liu, Anthony and Cush, Kate and Griffiths, Glenys and Gandham, Sowmya",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: This structured survey sought to identify barriers to recognising and reporting potential child abuse by medical officers and nursing staff in the EDs of three Western Sydney hospitals. These include a large metropolitan teaching hospital, a small metropolitan hospital and a rural hospital.
METHODS: A mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative study methodology was used to survey potential participants. The electronic survey was distributed to participants to assess knowledge and experiences with identifying child abuse presenting to the ED over a 6-month period. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed.
RESULTS: A total of 121 responses were received from 340 potential participants, giving a participation rate of 35%. The majority of the respondents were senior medical officers (38/110, 34%) or registered nurses (35/110, 32%). The study participants perceived the lack of time as the most significant barrier to reporting child abuse (85/101, 84%). This was followed by a lack of education (35/101, 34%), resources (33/101, 32%) and support (30/101, 29%).
CONCLUSION: The combination of hospital, departmental and individual staff issues such as time limitations, lack of resources, education and support are potential barriers to reporting suspected child abuse. We recommend tailored teaching sessions, improved reporting procedures and increased support from senior staff to overcome these barriers. Language: en
",
language="en",
issn="1742-6731",
doi="10.1111/1742-6723.14256",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.14256"
}