Insight of general physicians of health centers on child maltreatment, Hormozgan, Iran

Child abuse is a major clinical and health problem. It requires serious attention due to a lot of multilateral long- term effects. Major cases of severe child abuse referred to hospitals and health centers. Thus physicians should have awareness and enough knowledge about the risk factors, diagnostic symptoms and the consequences of maltreatment. This study aims to determine the degree of knowledge of general physicians employed in health centers of Hormozgan province about maltreatment with children. This is a cross – sectional study and data collection was done through a researcher made questionnaire. 149 health physicians working in Hormozgan province were participated in the study. Total knowledge scores were divided in to three categories: poor (scores between 14-0); intermediate (between 16-15) and good (between 21-17). The data was analyzed by Chi-square and t-test using SPSS software. The results showed that 15.7% of physicians fell in the poor group, 56.5% in the intermediate and 27.8% in the good category. This study showed that general practitioners in the province dont have enough knowledge about child abuse. Authorities should plan educational programs to promote their knowledge and the methods that they can manage child abuse in the society.