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Home Assessment of the knowledge of United Arab Emirates dentists of Child Maltreatment,...

Assessment of the knowledge of United Arab Emirates dentists of Child Maltreatment, protection and safeguarding

Authors:

  • H. Al Hajeri
    Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • M. Al Halabi
    Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • M. Kowash
    Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • A. H. Khamis
    Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • R. Welbury
    School of Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), England, United Kingdom
  • I. Hussein
    Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23804/ejpd.2018.19.02.04

ABSTRACT


Aim

Child safeguarding is society’s responsibility. Dentists are uniquely positioned to recognise Child Abuse and Neglect
(CAN) in dental practice and the wider society. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced a child protection law in 2016. We aimed to assess the awareness of UAE dentists of child maltreatment, protection and safeguarding. Study Design A cross-sectional survey.

Methods

We surveyed 381 UAE dentists about the knowledge and practice of CAN and safeguarding issues using a self-administered anonymous questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation test and statistical significance was set as p <0.05.

Results

Over 39 % (n=152) of the responders suspected CAN; male dentists suspected more CAN than females (p=0.015). Orthodontists, paediatric dentists (p<0.001) and female dentists (p=0.001) were more knowledgeable about diagnosing CAN. Paediatric dentists attended more CAN-related postgraduate training (p<0.001) than other specialties. Over 90% (n=346) believed that CAN should be addressed, 58.1% (n=224) and 54.1% (n=206) had CAN undergraduate and postgraduate training respectively but 53.5% (n=204) were unaware of local child protection guidelines. Dentists barriers to child protection reporting were; fear of family violence (59.6%, n=227), lack of knowledge of referral process (60.2%, n=228) and lack of diagnosis certainty (54.9%, n=206). UAE dentists qualified in Western and Asian countries had fewer barriers for child protection reporting (p=0.022) than the Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council qualified dentists. CONCLUSIONS: A large minority of UAE dentists suspected CAN. Factors influencing child protection reporting were identified. Dentists’ gender, specialty, and country of qualification affected their knowledge of CAN and practice of safeguarding. Child protection training is recommended.

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Publication date:

June /2018

Keywords:

child abuse, child maltreatment, child neglect, child protection, dentists, united arab emirates

Issue:

Vol.19 – n.2/2018

Page:

105 – 118

Publisher:

Ariesdue

Cite:


Harvard: H. Al Hajeri, M. Al Halabi, M. Kowash, A. H. Khamis, R. Welbury, I. Hussein (2018) "Assessment of the knowledge of United Arab Emirates dentists of Child Maltreatment, protection and safeguarding", European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 19(2), pp105-118. doi: 10.23804/ejpd.2018.19.02.04
Vancouver: H. Al Hajeri, M. Al Halabi, M. Kowash, A. H. Khamis, R. Welbury, I. Hussein. Assessment of the knowledge of United Arab Emirates dentists of Child Maltreatment, protection and safeguarding. European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry [Internet]. 2018Jun.1 [cited 2025May.12];19(2):105-118. Available from: https://www.ejpd.eu/abstract-pubmed/assessment-of-the-knowledge-of-united-arab-emirates-dentists-of-child-maltreatment-protection-and-safeguarding/
MLA: H. Al Hajeri, M. Al Halabi, M. Kowash, A. H. Khamis, R. Welbury, I. Hussein Assessment of the knowledge of United Arab Emirates dentists of Child Maltreatment, protection and safeguarding. European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry. 2018;19(2):105-118

Copyright (c) 2021 Ariesdue

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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    European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry © | ISSN (Online): 2035-648X
    Registrazione del Tribunale di Milano n. 285 del 14.04.1998 | ROC 1946 - 26.09.2001
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