The effect of training program on the knowledge level of midwifery students about child abuse

Context: Midwives are in a key position given that they are the first members of the healthcare profession to meet the baby and the family in both the treatment and the rehabilitative setting.

Aim: The present study aimed to determine the awareness levels of midwifery students on child abuse and neglect, and to evaluate the efficacy of a planned training on this issue. Setting and Design: A semi-experimental study was performed in a Health Sciences Faculty, Turkey.

Materials and Methods: Midwifery students (n = 85) enrolled in a Health Sciences Faculty comprised the sample of the study. The data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics form and the Scale for the Identification of Symptoms and Risks of Child Abuse and Neglect (SISRCAN).

Statistical Analysis Used: The study included a pretest, a training program on child abuse and neglect, and a posttest, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. Number, percentage, mean, paired samples t-test, and Wilcoxon test were used for the comparison of the values. A statistical significance level of P = 0.05 was applied.

Results: Among the participants, 61.2% stated that they had encountered cases of child abuse before while 40% stated that they themselves had experienced child abuse. The participants’ mean posttraining score on the whole SISRCAN and their mean posttraining scores on the subscales of “physical symptoms of the child,” “behavioral symptoms of child abuse,” “characteristics of parents prone to abusing and neglecting their children,” and “neglect and familial characteristics in child abuse and neglect” were found to significantly differ statistically (P < 0.001) compared to the mean scores they obtained in pretraining on the total scale and the mentioned subscales.

Conclusion: Training programs that aim to raise the knowledge level of midwifery student, who play an especially important role in children’s health, on child abuse and neglect in their future career should be planned and implemented effectively by the managers of health-care centers and hospitals.