Knowledge and Attitudes of Medical and Nursing Students in Greece Regarding Child Abuse and Neglect
Dionysia-Chara Pisimisi,
Plouto-Antiopi Syrinoglou,
Xenophon Sinopidis,
Ageliki Karatza,
Maria Lagadinou,
Alexandra Soldatou,
Anastasia Varvarigou,
Sotirios Fouzas,
Gabriel Dimitriou,
Despoina Gkentzi
Affiliations
Dionysia-Chara Pisimisi
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Plouto-Antiopi Syrinoglou
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Xenophon Sinopidis
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Ageliki Karatza
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Maria Lagadinou
Department of Nursing, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Alexandra Soldatou
Second Department of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, P. and A. Kyriakou Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115-27 Athens, Greece
Anastasia Varvarigou
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Sotirios Fouzas
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Gabriel Dimitriou
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Despoina Gkentzi
Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Data on the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare practitioners in training regarding child abuse and neglect (CAN) are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitudes regarding CAN of medical and nursing students in Greek universities. We performed a questionnaire-based e-survey on a convenience sample of students and recruited 609 students (366 medical and 243 nursing). An unsatisfactory level of knowledge in the field was reported overall. Most of the students (92.2%) were aware of their future responsibility to protect vulnerable children and report suspected cases of CAN; at the same time, they were willing to obtain further education. Based on the above, appropriate training in the undergraduate curriculum should be developed in order to strengthen future healthcare practitioners and boost their confidence in dealing with suspected cases of CAN and protect children’s welfare.
