Childhood Bullying: Screening and Intervening Practices of Pediatric Primary Care Providers.

Abstract

Many adverse outcomes related to childhood bullying are treated in primary care, although little is known about how often providers are screening for, and intervening in, bullying. A descriptive survey on the practices, attitudes, self-confidence, and knowledge of health care providers was sent to pediatric primary care providers in the state of Ohio. One hundred and two health care providers responded to the survey. More than half of the providers reported screening their patients for bullying. Interventions frequently used were providing counseling to the patient, referring patients to mental health, and documenting bullying in the chart. Providers with stronger attitudes and self-efficacy scores were more likely to screen for bullying, whereas knowledge was not related to screening for bullying. Despite national calls to screen for bullying, many providers do not routinely carry out screening. When bullying is suspected, many interventions are used in lieu of a paucity of evidence-based interventions.