ASSESS THE KNOLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND CLINICAL PRACTICES OF DENTAL GRADUATES FROM DIFFERENT DENTAL SCHOOLS ACROSS PAKISTAN REGARDING THE IDENTIFICATION, MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33279/jkcd.v16i01.925Keywords:
Child abuse, CAN, Dental neglect, Dental graduates, Diagnosis Documentation, knowledgeAbstract
Objectives: This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the dental graduates of different universities of Pakistan, regarding the identification, management, and reporting of child abuse.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on dental graduates from different colleges of Pakistan through an online questionnaire which was shared through focal persons nominated from their institutions. A total 204 participants filled the proforma, which was previously used in an internationally published study, containing different sections of knowledge, attitude and practices, that how they examine, diagnose, document, and report the child abuse cases during their clinical practices. ach section was marked and assessed by the individuals on their marks achieved. The data analysis was performed on R and R studio and Pearson's Chi-squared test/Fisher exact were applied.
Results: According to our study the knowledge level of participants regarding child abuse was generally low i.e. 80%, although dentists working in dental teaching hospitals had better knowledge as compared to dentists working in other settings. On the other hand, the attitude towards neglect and abuse among participants of the study was generally positive (91%). Reporting and documentation to the law enforcement agencies and concerned authorities was overall poor (94%). Our study also found no statistical significance between age/ experience with knowledge regarding neglect and abuse (P-value >0.9).
Conclusion: Dentist's knowledge was very low regarding child abuse identification, documentation and reporting to the concerned authorities. Dentists often don't report abuse and neglect cases.
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