Abstract
Child maltreatment (CM) is a public health problem with devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities. Resident physicians have varied formal education in CM, and report feeling inadequately trained in identifying and responding to CM. The purpose of this study is to explore residents’ understanding of the impacts of CM, and their perceptions of their role in recognizing and responding to CM to better understand their educational needs. This study analyzed qualitative data obtained from a larger project on family violence education. Twenty-nine resident physicians enrolled in pediatric, family medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry training programs in Alberta, Ontario, and Québec participated in semi-structured interviews to elicit their ideas, experiences, and educational needs relating to CM. Conventional (inductive) content analysis guided the development of codes and categories. Residents had thorough knowledge about the impacts of CM and their duty to recognize CM, but there was less consistency in how residents understood their role in responding to CM. Residents identified the need for more education about recognizing and responding to CM, and the need for educational content to be responsive to training, patient and family factors, and systemic issues. Despite knowledge about the impacts of CM and laws pertaining to mandated reporting, residents reported challenges with responding to concerns of CM. Findings of this study emphasize the need for better training in response to CM. Future educational interventions should consider a multidisciplinary, experiential approach.
Highlights
Data for the larger study were collected from a sample of social work students, social workers, resident physicians, and practicing physicians recruited for Phase 1 of the Researching the Impact of Service provider Education (RISE)
A total of nine participants had a ‘high familiarity’ with Child maltreatment (CM), indicating they had a lot of practical experience related to child maltreatment and/or described CM as a central focus of their practice
To better understand the educational needs of residents, this study explored how residents who may encounter CM in their clinical work describe their understanding about the impacts of CM, and their role in recognizing and responding to CM
Summary
Child maltreatment (CM), which includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, and children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), is an key public health problem that has devastating effects throughout the lifespan [1–6]. Research has shown the long-term deleterious effects of CM on relationships, including attachment difficulties, increased risk of IPV victimization, unintended pregnancies, and increased rates of committing violent behaviour, including abuse of one’s own children [1,2,4–7]. International evidence indicates that over 300 million children experience some form of CM on an annual basis [8].
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