German dentists' knowledge about child abuse and neglect

Background Studies from several countries have shown that there is a lack of knowledge related to child protection among dentists and their teams. So far, there are no data available about the situation in Germany. Aim To describe the perception of the role of German dentists in terms of child abuse and neglect. Design A questionnaire previously used by other studies regarding the role of dentists in child protection was adapted to German terminology and provided online. The internet address has been shown in different German dentists’ association journals addressing dentists only. The participation was voluntary. Results A total of 251 (79.68%) dentists completed the questionnaire with valid data; 62.5% reported to have had a suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Of these, 21,7% had reported their suspicion to the social services. Dentists specialized in pediatric dentistry reported their suspicion more often. Most frequently reported barriers towards contacting social services were uncertainty about diagnosis, fear of violence towards the child and the lack of knowledge in terms of referral procedures. Most of the participants expressed a need for further education. Conclusions Dentists in Germany are not able to fill their role in child protection matters sufficiently and show a need for undergraduate and continuing postgraduate training

背景
多国已有研究表明，牙医及其团队普遍缺乏与儿童保护（child protection）相关的专业知识。截至目前，德国境内相关现状尚未有公开数据支撑。
研究目的
探究德国牙医对自身在儿童虐待（child abuse）与儿童忽视（child neglect）防控中所扮演角色的认知现状。
研究设计
采用其他同类研究中用于评估牙医儿童保护角色的问卷，适配德语术语后以线上形式发放。问卷链接仅刊载于面向牙医群体的德国各牙医协会期刊中，且参与者可自愿参与调研。
结果
共有251名牙医完成问卷并提供有效数据，有效回收率为79.68%；其中62.5%的受访者表示曾怀疑存在儿童虐待或忽视行为。在上述存在疑似情况的受访者中，仅21.7%曾向社会服务机构（social services）上报相关疑虑。儿童牙科（pediatric dentistry）专科牙医上报疑似情况的比例更高。受访者提及的阻碍其向社会服务机构联系上报的最常见因素包括：诊断依据不明确、担心儿童遭受暴力，以及对转介流程（referral procedures）缺乏了解。绝大多数参与者表示需要接受相关继续教育。
结论
德国牙医尚未能充分履行其在儿童保护工作中的职责，亟需开展本科阶段及毕业后的继续教育相关培训。