Citation

Sawyer S, Cahill A, Bartlett S, Smith K, Higgins D. Int. J. Child Maltreat. 2023; 6(1): 59-77.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s42448-022-00144-7

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Child abuse and neglect (CAN) causes significant harm to Australian children, resulting in significant health and social impacts. Paramedics frequently encounter patients experiencing CAN, though they often report little education and training. Little is known about their capacity to detect CAN or their willingness to report suspected cases. This study aims to explore the understanding of Australian paramedics of key legislation and organisational policies. A novel, 23-item exam-style questionnaire and 10 short vignettes depicting CAN were presented to a sample of Australian paramedics working in the state of Victoria. Analysis of item-level responses and associations with gender, location of work, and skillset was undertaken. Participants provided the correct response for knowledge items 62.7% of the time (range per item: 23.0-73.3%). Participants responded "unsure" for items between 3.2 and 24.9% of the time (average 11.0%). Participants correctly identified that each vignette contained a depiction of CAN between 51.8 and 94.3% of instances. Participants were least knowledgeable or willing to report CAN when depicted as emotional abuse or domestic and family violence. Australian paramedics appear reasonably well educated and informed with respect to CAN; however, they also appear to be less able to recognise emotional abuse and children exposed to domestic and family violence than other types of CAN, which may require targeted intervention. It is possible that paramedics may not be detecting and reporting CAN based on risk to the child and may be attempting to determine the validity of disclosures or have a too high threshold for indicative signs of CAN. Future research should focus on determining the most effective strategies and interventions to increase detection and willingness to report.

Language: en

Keywords

Child abuse; Disclosure; Maltreatment; Mandatory reporting; Neglect; Risk