Abstract

Background: Children maltreatment includes several domains such as physical and emotional maltreatment for those less than 18 years old. It is high in prevalence globally, and it is the highest to record in low-income countries. The children may refer to hospitals as they suffer injuries or burns due to childhood maltreatment. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of emergency health care providers in the assessment of child maltreatment
Methods: This study is cross-sectional that was performed on emergency care providers between the period from May to August 2018 using an online survey.
Results: This study included 200 participants, regarding knowledge, there were 69% reported no education training, 70% identified physical violence and aggression as the main form of child maltreatment, 39.5% reported that scarring and bruising at different stages of healing were the typical physical symptoms. Regarding attitude, 89.5% strongly agreed that Emergency care providers Holding an important role in the prevention of childhood maltreatment, 79.5% disagreed that follow up of victims wasn’t required and only 1.5% strongly agreed that they feel confident diagnosing and treating cases of child maltreatment. Regarding practice, 38% reported no protocol for the care of victims and 50% didn’t know where to refer victims for further treatment.
Conclusion: There was a gap in knowledge, but there was a positive attitude. However, the practice was bad.

Key words: Children, Maltreatment, Emergency care providers