Knowledge and Attitude of Pediatricians and Pediatric Residents Regarding Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse and neglect is a public health challenge with lifelong consequences for survivors. Physicians’ knowledge regarding child abuse and neglect is essential for diagnosis, treatment, and timely referral to legal authorities. This study aimed to determine pediatric residents’ and pediatricians’ knowledge and attitude regarding child abuse and neglect. In this cross-sectional study, pediatric residents› and pediatricians› knowledge and attitude regarding child abuse and neglect were measured using a standard questionnaire with confirmed validity and reliability. In this questionnaire, knowledge score ranged from 0 to 17, and attitude score ranged from 10 to 50. After collecting the questionnaires and calculating the scores, the information was entered into the SPSS software (version 22), and statistical analysis was performed. A total of 80 participants, including 38 pediatric residents and 42 pediatricians, participated in this research. Among them, 71.3% were female, and 28.8% were male. The mean score of knowledge and attitude in all participants was 14.05 ± 1.88 out of 17 and 41.39 ± 4.36 out of 50, respectively. The mean score in the pediatric residents and pediatricians was 13.42 ± 2.02.  and 14.62 ± 1.57 for knowledge and 40.66 ± 4.32 and 42.05 ± 4.35 for attitude, respectively. Regarding knowledge, 19 participants (23.8%) had a good score, 35 (43.8%) had a moderate score, and 26 (32.5%) had a poor score (p=0.24). There was a significant difference in terms of knowledge score among four academic groups (first-year resident, second-year resident, third-year resident, and pediatrician) (p=0.031), as the score wassignificantly higher in pediatricians than in residents (p=0.004). However, no significant difference was observed for attitude score (p=0.056). In general, and regarding all participants, no significant relationship was observed between attitude score and knowledge score (p=0.059). Most pediatric residents and pediatricians participating in the present study had moderate knowledge and attitude toward child abuse and neglect, and less than a quarter of the participants had good knowledge in this regard. Also, the pediatricians had significantly higher knowledge scores than the pediatric residents. These results emphasize the importance of more education for pediatric residents regarding child abuse and neglect and continuing education programs for pediatricians.