Research Information System
Selcuk Dental Journal, vol.8, no.1, pp.82-87, 2021 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Background: Child abuse is one of the most important social problems of today. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of dental students about abuse in children.
Methods: The study included first, second, third, fourth and fifth study years students (total of 483 students) at Faculty of Dentistry of the Erciyes University in the school year of 2019. A questionnaire including questions about the definition of the physical and social symptoms of child abuse, their awareness of their legal and ethical responsibilities and requests made by students was directed to the students and the data obtained were evaluated. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to evaluate the data and p<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: All students filled the questionnaire. The correct answers of the students are 68.9 % first grades, 69.8 % second grades, 74.2 % third grades, 76.4 % fourth grades, and 79.7 % fifth grades. Correct response rates of third, fourth and fifth grades were statistically significantly higher than first and second grades (p<0,05). The majority of students reported that they needed further education about child abuse.
Conclusion: The training needs of dental students about the diagnosis and reporting of suspected child abuse cases should be met.