SPOT THE UNSEEN -PERCEPTION OF DENTAL PRACTITIONERS IN RECOGNISING AND REPORTING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

Back ground:Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a widespread social phenomenon encompassing all forms of maltreatment with serious lifelong consequences. Dentists are in the unique position to identify the symptoms of CAN often visible in the craniofacial region.

Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze dentist sknowledge, awareness and reporting of child abuse and neglect (CAN) and the factors affecting the recognition and reporting of CAN cases.

Methods and Materials: A self administered questionnaire survey was conducted among Dental Practitioners of Bengaluru City. A total of 1700 private dental practitioners of Bengaluru made up the sampling frame of the study and a sample of 480 dental practitioners was selected. Around 50 to 60 dental practitioners were randomly selected by stratified random sampling technique from different zones of Bengaluru City to maintain uniformity in Sample distribution.This structured questionnaire consisted of fifteen questions which assessed the knowledge regarding child abuse and neglect and six questions regarding reporting of child abuse. Information regarding the type of practice and clinical experience was correlated with the level of knowledge and reporting of CAN using Chi-Square test.The statistical analysis was performed by STATA 11.2 (College Station TX USA), Chi Square and T-Test.