KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AMONG DENTISTS - A SURVEY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/j602gv97Keywords:
Child Abuse and Neglect, Dentist knowledge, Reporting, Education, AwarenessAbstract
Child abuse is a state of emotional, physical, economic, and sexual maltreatment meted out to a person below the age of 18 and is a globally prevalent phenomenon. However, in India there has been no understanding of the extent, magnitude, and trends of the problem. In view of the high proportion of oral-facial injuries seen in victims of child abuse, dentists are in a strategic position to recognize and report suspected cases. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to assess the knowledge and attitude of dentists regarding child abuse and neglect and to identify the barriers in child abuse and neglect. A questionnaire of 21 questions was created and entered in the online survey creator ‘Google Forms’ and shared among each dentist’s population of 100 dentists individually and privately, and the data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software. The statistical tests used were descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Confidence level was set at 90%. Overall responses to the questions were 95%. A significant difference between MDS and BDS dentists in knowledge and awareness of child abuse and neglect was noted, with the BDS-graduated dentists showing more knowledge and awareness. Results of this study suggest that dentists need an effective education and awareness campaign to increase their knowledge and awareness of all aspects of CAN.
Downloads
References
[1] Markovic N, Muratbegovic AA, Kobaslija S, et al. KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES REGARDING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT. Mater Sociomed 2015; 27: 372–375.
[2] Fisher-Owens SA, Lukefahr JL, Tate AR, et al. Oral and Dental Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect. Pediatrics 2017; 140: e20171487.
[3] Ramos-Gomez F, Rothman D, Blain S. KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES AMONG CALIFORNIA
DENTAL CARE PROVIDERS REGARDING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT. The Journal of the
American Dental Association 1998; 129: 340–348.
[4] Kaur H, Chaudhary S, Choudhary N, et al. Child abuse: Cross-sectional survey of general dentists. J Oral
Biol Craniofac Res 2016; 6: 118–123.
[5] Lazenbatt A, Freeman R. Recognizing and reporting child physical abuse: a survey of primary healthcare
professionals. J Adv Nurs 2006; 56: 227–236.
[6] John V, Messer LB, Arora R, et al. Child abuse and dentistry: A study of knowledge and attitudes among
dentists in Victoria, Australia. Australian Dental Journal 1999; 44: 259–267.
[7] Al-Dabaan R, Newton JT, Asimakopoulou K. Knowledge, attitudes, and experience of dentists living in
Saudi Arabia toward child abuse and neglect. Saudi Dent J 2014; 26: 79–87.
[8] Shree KH, Hema Shree K, Ramani P, et al. Saliva as a Diagnostic Tool in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
– a Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Pathology & Oncology Research 2019; 25: 447–453.
[9] Abitha T, Santhanam A. Correlation between bizygomatic and maxillary central incisor width for gender
identification. Brazilian Dental Science 2019; 22: 458–466.
[10] Krishnan RP, Ramani P, Sherlin HJ, et al. Surgical Specimen Handover from Operation Theater to
Laboratory: A Survey. Ann Maxillofac Surg 2018; 8: 234–238.
[11] Palati S, Ramani P, Herald J, Sherlin et al. Age Estimation of an Individual Using Olze’s Method in
Indian Population-A Cross-Sectional Study. Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology 2019; 13:
121.
[12] Sarbeen JI, Insira Sarbeen J, Gheena S. Microbial variation in climatic change and its effect on human
health. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology 2016; 9: 1777.
[13] Harrita S, Santhanam A. Determination of Physical Height Using Clinical Crown Height of Deciduous
Teeth. Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology 2019; 13: 23.
[14] Sukumaran G, Padavala S. Molar incisor hypomineralization and its prevalence. Contemporary Clinical
Dentistry 2018; 9: 246.
[15] Palati S, Ramani P, Shrelin H, et al. Knowledge, Attitude and practice survey on the perspective of oral
lesions and dental health in geriatric patients residing in old age homes. Indian Journal of Dental Research
2020; 31: 22.
[16] Prasanna GE, Gheena S. A study of empathy across students from 4 health disciplines among 1st years and
Final years. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology 2016; 9: 1472.
[17] P.K. Uma,¹ Pratibha Ramani,² , Herald J. Sherlin,³ , Gheena S.,⁴ Gifrina Jayaraj,⁴ , K.R. Don,⁵ , Archana
Santhanam5. (2020). Knowledge about Legal Aspects of Medical Negligence in India among Dentists—A
Questionnaire Survey. Medico-Legal Update, 20(1), 111-115. Retrieved from
http://ijop.net/index.php/mlu/article/view/337 (accessed 12 June 2020).
[18] Hannah R, Ramani P, Herald J, Sherlin et al. Awareness about the use, Ethics and Scope of Dental
Photography among Undergraduate Dental Students Dentist Behind the lens. Research Journal of
Pharmacy and Technology 2018; 11: 1012.
[19] Gunasekaran G, Abilasha R. TOOTH SENSITIVITY AMONG RESIDENTIAL UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS IN CHENNAI. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research 2016; 63.
[20] Ahad M, Gheena S. Awareness, attitude and knowledge about evidence-based dentistry among the dental
practitioner in Chennai city. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology 2016; 9: 1863.
[21] Manohar J, Abilasha R. A Study on the Knowledge of Causes and Prevalence of Pigmentation of Gingiva
among dental students. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development 2019; 10: 95.
[22] Sheriff KAH, Ahmed Hilal Sheriff K, Santhanam A. Knowledge and Awareness towards Oral Biopsy
among students of Saveetha Dental College. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology 2018; 11: 543.
[23] Azevedo MS, Goettems ML, Brito A, et al. Child maltreatment: a survey of dentists in southern Brazil.
Braz Oral Res 2012; 26: 5–11.
[24] Owais AIN, Qudeimat MA, Qodceih S. Dentists’ involvement in identification and reporting of child physical abuse: Jordan as a case study. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2009; 19: 291–296.
[25] Deshpande A, Macwan C, Poonacha KS, et al. Knowledge and attitude in regards to physical child abuse amongst medical and dental residents of central Gujarat: a cross-sectional survey. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent 2015; 33: 177–182.
[26] K. Archana and K. R. Don. Physical signs of child abuse. Drug Invention Today. Jan 2019; 11(1):189-192 ISSN: 0975-7619
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 AUTHOR
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
