‘It’s a necessary evil’: Experiences and perceptions of

Aust J Gen Pract · Oct 2018

‘It’s a necessary evil’: Experiences and perceptions of mandatory reporting of child abuse in Victorian general practice

General practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses (PNs) are mandated to report child abuse; however, only 2–4% of reports are made by Victorian health professionals. This is concerning, given that the estimated prevalence of physical child abuse alone in Australia is 5–18%. The aim of this study was to explore GPs’ and PNs’ experiences and perceptions of mandatory reporting of child abuse in Victoria. ⋯ GPs and PNs must negotiate their legal obligation, with the emotional burden associated with the decision to report. Updated education on reporting processes and more support for GPs and PNs are recommended.

read on… or not…
- Jacqueline Kuruppu, Kirsty Forsdike, and Kelsey Hegarty.
- BBmed (Hons), PhD candidate, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne Carlton, Vic. jacqueline.kuruppu@unimelb.edu.au
- Aust J Gen Pract. 2018 Oct 1; 47 (10): 729-733.
Background And ObjectiveGeneral practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses (PNs) are mandated to report child abuse; however, only 2–4% of reports are made by Victorian health professionals. This is concerning, given that the estimated prevalence of physical child abuse alone in Australia is 5–18%. The aim of this study was to explore GPs’ and PNs’ experiences and perceptions of mandatory reporting of child abuse in Victoria.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 17 Victorian GPs and PNs were undertaken and thematically analysed.ResultsParticipants had limited understanding of mandatory reporting in Victoria, struggled with negotiating the risks of reporting child abuse and felt unsupported by their practice and Child Protection Services.DiscussionGPs and PNs must negotiate their legal obligation, with the emotional burden associated with the decision to report. Updated education on reporting processes and more support for GPs and PNs are recommended.

Pubmed Free full text Copy Citation Plaintext

Add institutional full text...
Notes
Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?

300 characters remaining

help

You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes

Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.

Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.

Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.

Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)

Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")

For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.

Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..
hide…

‘It’s a necessary evil’: Experiences and perceptions of mandatory reporting of child abuse in Victorian general practice

Notes

300 characters remaining

help

You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.