Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of Dentists at Military Hospitals Regarding Child Abuse and Neglect: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Own, Begad Hamdy; Elshiekh, Manal Ahmed; Salama, Ahmed Adel; Naguib, Islam Ali

doi:10.21608/adjc.2023.206590.1294

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of Dentists at Military Hospitals Regarding Child Abuse and Neglect: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University

² faculty of dentistry ,Cairo university , department of pediatric dentistry

³ Pediatric Dentistry Dept., Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Manial, Giza, Egypt

⁴ Lecturer of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Military Medical Academy, Egypt

10.21608/adjc.2023.206590.1294

Abstract

Introduction: Child abuse and neglect is a major public health issue. Dentists are well-positioned to detect occurrences of child abuse. Aim: To assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists at military hospitals regarding child abuse and neglect. Methods: A cross-sectional study with convenient consecutive sample was conducted on army officers and civilian dentists working at Military Hospitals. Data regarding their knowledge, attitude, and practice toward child abuse and neglect were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Personal questionnaire distribution was preferred than online one. Data was collected through the questions in the questionnaire then were put on tables and excel sheets by the researcher. Results: 316 questionnaires were distributed; 307 were completely answered, yielding a response rate of 97% for the survey. Statistical analysis showed that 84.7% of the participating dentists had a good level of knowledge regarding physical and social signs of child abuse. Dentists reported a positive attitude towards legal responsibility regarding detecting and reporting cases of abuse with a percentage of 98.4% believed that they had ethical duty to report child abuse cases. Uncertainty about diagnosis was the top reason for not reporting cases of child abuse. 34.5% of respondents were uncertain about the signs and symptoms of abuse, so they were unsure whether they were dealing with an abuse case. Conclusion: Dentists had a good theoretical understanding of the indicators, risk factors, and manifestations of child abuse and neglect, but they lacked experience of clinical detection and reporting of probable cases.

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