Assessment of the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of family physicians in Adana regarding child abuse and neglect

Aim The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge levels, awareness, and attitudes of physicians working in family medicine units in Adana city center, Turkey, on child abuse and neglect (CAN) and to evaluate the quality of education given to family physicians on CAN. Subjects and methods This was a cross-sectional study of family physicians providing health services in the urban districts of Adana. A personal information form was used to query the sociodemographic characteristics of the physicians, their educational status, occupational experience, status in encountering cases of CAN, and approach to CAN. The Scale for the Identification of Symptoms and Risks of Child Abuse and Neglect (SISRCAN) was used to assess the physicians' level of knowledge about CAN. Results A total of 375 family physicians participated in the study. Of these, 39.2% (n = 147) stated that they had encountered a case of CAN. Of the physicians who had encountered CAN, 48.2% considered themselves partially adequate, 25.1% fully competent, and 22.4% inadequate in intervention. The rate of diagnosing abuse was higher in those who had received education in this regard (p < 0.001). The mean total SISRCAN score of the family physicians who participated in the study was calculated as 261.50 +/- 22.75 (3.90 +/- 0.33). There was no significant relationship between the status of receiving education on CAN and the scores obtained from the scale. Conclusion It can be concluded that family physicians do not have sufficient knowledge and awareness about CAN. Additionally, educational activities in this regard are inadequate and need to be re-structured and increased.