Investigation of the approaches of nurse working in emergency department to child abuse and forensic facts

Introduction: Emergency service is a unit where both forensic cases and cases of child abuse and neglect are frequently seen. Recognition, reporting and general approach of these cases are very important. It will be important to examine the competencies and attitudes of the emergency service nurses in this regard, to identify possible problems and to take steps towards solution. The present study aimed to determine the level of diagnosis of symptoms and risks of nurses working in the emergency department when faced with cases of child abuse and neglect, their ability to report cases they suspect or know, and their knowledge level and approach to forensic cases. Material and Method: The sample of this cross-sectional and descriptive study consisted of 150 emergency nurses working in the secondary health facilities of the Tokat Public Hospitals Presidency and the Emergency Services of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Hospital. Data were collected using the Forensic Approach Diagnostic Form, which includes the socio-demographic characteristics of emergency room nurses and their approach to forensic cases, the Scale for Diagnosing the Symptoms and Risks of Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Nurses' Self-Efficacy Scale for Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect. Mean ± standard deviation, percentile distributions, t-test and Anova test were used to evaluate the data. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for score calculations for variables with two categories that did not show normal distribution, and the Kruskal Wallis H test for score calculations for variables with more than two categories. p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: 150 emergency nurses with a mean age of 29.87±7.95 participated in the study. It was determined that the majority of the participants did not receive forensic nursing education and in-service training on forensic nursing. The stages that emergency nurses have the most difficulty when faced with forensic cases are taking a history (39.53%), lack of knowledge about the procedure (27.13%), legal process (13.95%), reporting to relevant institutions (6.98%). , physical examination (6.98%) and registration (4.65%). The nurses' levels of diagnosing the symptoms and risks of child neglect and abuse were at moderate levels, the highest score was the diagnosis of physical symptoms of abuse on the child (41.84±8.47), the lowest score was the characteristics of the child prone to neglect (14.13±2, 92) were found. Nurses' Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Self-Efficacy Scale is sufficient to determine effectiveness expectations and outcome expectations (94.75 ± 22.42) for suspected (130.74 ± 27.77) and known (132.27 ± 28.95) cases is seen. Conclusion: Before graduation, curriculum programs should be established for nurses on child abuse and neglect and approach to forensic cases. The information should be kept up to date by planning in-service training programs at regular intervals in the institution they work for.