Providing Education and Screening for Prevention of Child Maltreatment in Rural Utah

Abstract

Purpose: This project was completed to increase patient care staff’s confidence in their ability to detect and manage family situations that place children at risk of being maltreated. Background: Child maltreatment is an unfortunately frequent occurrence throughout the United States (US). Primary care providers have an ideal position for the prevention of child maltreatment as they often see and have insight into entire families. The use of screening tools and early intervention measures for the prevention of child maltreatment help stop occurrences of maltreatment leading to overall healthier lives in their patients. Methods: An educational in-service, which included child maltreatment education, introduction to a screening tool, explanation of local resources, and resource handouts, was provided to a rural family practice clinic. A post-survey assessed the effectiveness of the presentation and functionality of the tool and handouts in practice. Results: Numeric values were assigned to the Likert scale survey questions, ranging from ‘1’ (strongly disagree) to ‘5’ (strongly agree). Responses demonstrated improvements in knowledge and effectiveness of the presentation. “[The education] increased my confidence in my ability to detect child maltreatment” mean = 4.125, “the BCAP screening tool would be useful to me in practice” mean = 4, “I better understand what to do if I notice signs of child maltreatment” mean = 4.15, “I would utilize the provided handouts to give patient information on resources to support their family” mean = 4. Conclusion: At a southwest rural primary care practice, the use of an educational in-service was useful for health care staff to improve knowledge for prevention and response to child maltreatment.