Determinants of nurses’ intention to report child maltreatment: A cross-sectional study from a Middle Eastern country

Problem considered

Child maltreatment or child abuse is prevalent globally, putting a great deal of strain on the healthcare system due to its short and long-term consequences on the child and the community as a whole. Understanding the determinants that affect nurses' decisions to report child abuse is vital to inform the development of effective training programs. Therefore, this study investigated the determinants of nurses’ intention to report child maltreatment.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 84 nurses were recruited from Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Oman using a convenience sampling technique. The participants completed one self-administered questionnaire, including the Child Abuse Report Intention Scale. The analytical tools included descriptive statistics and fitting multiple regression.

Results

Descriptive statistics showed that the majority (63.10 %) of the nurses did not receive education about child maltreatment in the hospital, and the majority (78.57 %) of them had not reported any child abuse case before. Cultural factors (26.19 %), fear of litigation (21.43 %), and uncertainty about evidence (16.67 %) were the most reported barriers to reporting child abuse. Further, stepwise regression analysis showed that participants' norms (t_{1, 82} = 7.48, p < .01) and attitudes (t_2,81 = 2.71, p < .01) are the only significant predictors and they explained 44.1 % of the total variation in nurses’ intention to report child maltreatment.

Conclusion

Nurses' intention to report child maltreatment is predicted by nurses’ norms and attitudes. Ongoing in-service training on child abuse, provision of social support, and professional guidance of staff nurses is highly recommended to assist them in making the best decision.