Child Abuse Training, Comfort, and Knowledge Among Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, and Pediatric Residents

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the training, comfort, and knowledge related to the medical management of child abuse among emergency medicine, family medicine, and pediatric residents. Method: In 2004, a 25-item survey was distributed to 274 pediatric, emergency medicine, and family medicine residents at two medical schools in Norfolk, Virginia and Dallas, Texas. Analyses focused on identifying differences in training, comfort, and knowledge by specialty and site, and identifying factors associated with greater knowledge and comfort. Results: Pediatric residents reported receiving the most hours of instruction in child abuse during residency. Training experiences of family medicine residents differed significantly by site. Clinical and overall knowledge and comfort with handling exams correlated strongly with the number of abuse patients seen during residency. On both clinical and overall knowledge, family medicine residents performed significantly worse than pediatric and emergency medicine residents. Knowledge of genital anatomy and comfort with sexual abuse exams was poor among all specialties. Conclusion: The results support the need for improvements in and a more systematic approach to residency training in child abuse.