Still an unknown topic: child abuse and "shaken baby syndrome"

BACKGROUND Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a severe form of physical child abuse, and can even cause death. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether or not the primary healthcare workers had received any education regarding child abuse and neglect, whether they could diagnose the cases, whether they had sufficient knowledge about SBS as a part of child abuse, and whether they were in need of education on the topic. METHODS Health workers in the primary healthcare centers in the province of Kayseri were enrolled. A questionnaire was applied. RESULTS In this study, 35.0% of the study group were physicians. 43.7% of the study group stated that they had not recieved any education regarding child abuse and neglect, and 52.1% stated that they believed that physical abuse was the most prominent form of abuse in society. While 64.1% of the participants stated that they had heard about SBS, 10.4% of these stated that they had heard about it, but did not have adequate knowledge on the topic. CONCLUSION There is a lack of knowledge and a need for education regarding child abuse and neglect among the personnel working in primary healthcare, especially on the subject of SBS. Undergraduate and postgraduate education regarding child abuse and SBS will help to increase the number of people well-informed and sensitive to this important issue.