Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of child abuse amongst residents working in three selected tertiary care hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

AbstractIntroduction: - Child abuse has been a global problem and has continued to be a tireless public health challenge in all countries. Pediatricians have a significant role in the prevention and intervention of child abuse. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of child abuse among pediatric residents in three selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Method: - An Institutional-based Cross-sectional study design was utilized for this research. A Self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, practice, and attitude of pediatric residents in three selected teaching hospitals. The collected data underwent a thorough check, cleaning, and entry into the SPSS version 25.0 software for analysis. Binary logistic regression was applied to establish the relationship between the various independent and dependent variables, and a 95% confidence interval with a P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Result: In this study, 135 participants participated, resulting in a response rate of 96.4%. Sixty percent of the study participants were males, and 69.6% were in the age group of 25-30 years with a mean age of 24±0.76. Only 31(23%) of them had previously received any education about child abuse. In the knowledge assessment, half of the participants had a score of good knowledge, 56% of the participants had a favorable attitude, and 43% had good practice. Being married was associated with a decreased likelihood of having good practice in relation to child abuse.Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that the general knowledge, attitude, and practice of health care professionals in the field of pediatrics regarding child abuse are not satisfactory. We believe that training programs on this issue should be mandatory for pediatric residents, given their crucial role in providing care for children.RecommendationThe hospital should provide in-service, on-the-job training and continuous professional development for residents working in the emergency unit to enhance their knowledge, practice, and attitude toward child abuse. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2023; 37(2) 000-000]Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, practice, child abuse, pediatrics residents, Ethiopia