Child abuse: perception and knowledge by Public Health Dentistry teams in Brazil

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the experience, knowledge and attitudes of dentists and oral health technicians (OHTs) who work in Basic Health Units in the city of Curitiba, PR, Brazil, regarding cases of abuse against children and adolescents. Methods: In this observational study, three hundred eighty-three questionnaires (validated for Brazilian Portuguese) were sent to dentists and OHTs who work in public health units. The response rate was 38.12% (n = 146) for dentists and 40% (n = 77) for OHTs. Results: The mean age of the dentists was 40±8.29 years, and 53.43% treated more than 10 children per week. The OHTs' mean age was 45.39±9.71 years, and 62.35% attended to more than 10 children per week. Although the dentists perceived 185 suspected cases of maltreatment, only 35.67% were reported to authorities. In the OHT group, 22.08% were reported to authorities. Sixty-eight dentists (47%) and 11 OHTs (14.28%) reported having treated at least one case of orofacial trauma in the previous 6 months, totalizing 166 orofacial traumas. About the mechanism for reporting suspected cases, 83% of the respondents knew how to report. Over 50% of the responses concerning why the professionals did not report cases of physical violence against children included fear of retaliation and difficulties in diagnosis. Conclusions: Suspected cases of maltreatment against children and adolescents are underreported. More information is required to recognize suspected maltreatment cases and notify authorities.

Turkish paediatric dentists’ knowledge, experiences and attitudes regarding child physical abuse

“…Suspecting child abuse and its reporting are problematic areas in dentistry. Dalledone et al . reported a significant correlation between suspecting child abuse and the duration of experience in the profession.…”

“…Reasons for not reporting suspected cases of child physical abuse, include ‘uncertainty about the diagnosis’, which was the most common reason cited in many studies. ‘Not knowing the role of the dentist in reporting’, ‘lack of information’ and ‘confidentiality concerns’ were the other reasons. In this study, the lack of information on where to report and documents for reporting were the two main reasons for not reporting suspected cases of child physical abuse.…”

Assessment of knowledge and attitudes of dental students in regard to child abuse in Turkey

“…Only 11.4% of the dentists knew the procedure. Dalledone et al (35) stated that 35.67% of the dentists reported suspected cases to authorities in Brazil. There are many studies from all over the world which reported similar findings (17,(34)(35)(36)(37).…”

Experience with suspecting child maltreatment in the Norwegian public dental health services, a national survey

“…[21] International studies have shown that dental health personnel do suspect child maltreatment among their patients. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] However, detecting child maltreatment can be difficult, and in relation to oral health, it is hard to determine common features that characterize dental neglect. [18] Dental health personnel find their duty to report challenging and do often fail to report their suspicions to CWS.…”

“…This disparity is in accordance with other studies. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] The challenges dental health personnel experience when suspecting child maltreatment and deciding whether to report to CWS may be related to difficulties making decisions under uncertainty. [32] More specifically, signs of child maltreatment are often unclear and ambiguous and the consequences of reporting to CWS are often unclear.…”