A study on prospective dental hygiene students awareness of child abuse and attitudes towards mandatory reporting

Abstract

Objectives: To confirm the awareness of child abuse and attitudes toward mandatory reporting among dental hygiene students in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. Methods: The level of awareness of child abuse according to general characteristics, attitudes toward reporting obligation, and awareness of the mandatory reporting system were analyzed using t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis, and correlation was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Awareness of child abuse was 3.76, 3.68, 3.67, and 3.18 points for neglect, sexual abuse, physical, and emotional abuse, respectively. The attitude toward reporting obligation were 3.60 and 2.62 points for positive and negative reporting attitudes, respectively. Regarding awareness of child abuse, a significant positive correlation was observed between positive reporting attitude (r=0.326, p<0.01) and awareness of mandatory reporting system (r=0.272, p<0.01). Conclusions: To increase the reporting rate among dental hygienists, awareness should be improved starting from the undergraduate level, perceptions of prospective dental hygienists should be reflected in the development and direction of educational programs, and it is necessary to increase accessibility to educational opportunities and continuously seek institutional and policy measures.