الاعتداء الجسدي على الأطفال : هل أطباء أسنان المستقبل في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة قادرين على تشخيصه ?

Abstract EN

Purpose : the aim of this study was to investigate dental students' educational experience, attitudes and knowledge with regard to child physical abuse in all dental schools in United Arab Emirates.

Material and methods: The data were collected by self-administered structured questionnaire completed by 578 under graduate dental students in four (all) dental schools in United Arab Emirates.

Data analyzed using descriptive analyses for responses to each question.

Results: The results indicated that there is lack of knowledge of reporting procedure, signs of physical abuse and social indicators among all respondents.

Most students indicated that their dental school was the main source of information on this topic.

Conclusions: the finding of the current study revealed that dental students were not sufficiently prepared to know what to look for when they suspect child abuse and what to actually do when they encounter this problem in a professional setting.

To provide better care for these young domestic violence victims, dental schools’ curriculum modifications should focus on providing students with concrete educational experiences regarding child abuse cases.