Assessment 2 1. Choose one of the nursing practices issues from the list below. 2. Topic for evaluation of clinical issues: · Educating nurses about mandatory reporting, with a focus on child...

Report on ‘Educating nurses about mandatory reporting, with a focus on child protection’
2020-10-08
Introduction
WHO elucidates that 40 million children per year are victim of child abuse globally (WHO 2001). According to NCPC 2008, there have been more than 50,000 investigations related to child abuse in Australia. Australian health and criminal justice spend approximately $4.9 billion every year on the cases related to child abuse. WHO states that several deleterious effects on child’s mental health have been reported in relation to child abuse, which includes increased risk of depression, risk to the child’s emotional and physical development etc (WHO 2002).
While Australia has no national child protection legislation, each state has different laws andrequirements (NCPC 2007). Legislations are in place for mandatory reporting of child abuse in Australia in all its states besides Western Australia (NCPC 2007).
Even in Australia’s cu
ent scenario, it is mandatory for even doctors, nurses and midwives to report suspicious or evident child abuse. There has not been much research as to why, but number of cases reported for child abuse very year remains low (2-4%), practice nurses (PN’s) being the less common due to the fact that they come in contact with children’s families less frequently, and due to an evident relationship of mo
idity and mortality with child abuse (with low prevalence).
This is also confirmed by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) according to which nurses are not among top five list of people who report child abuse. Evidently, not much research has been done on the factors which lead to reporting process by these groups, but there are reports on the presence of certain ba
iers which might exist and generate hindrance in reporting a case of child abuse.
Analysis of numbers globally on child maltreatment/abuse indicates that nearly 22.6%, 36.3%, 16.3% of adults have endured physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, respectively, during their childhood.In context to sexual abuse, the numbers are 18% of women and 7.6% of men.
However, further studies are required on the experiences of Australian PNs’on the mandatory reporting of child abuse and discrepancy between prevalence of child abuse and reporting rates.
Recommendations for Healthcare professionals w.r.t child protection by Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation
Following measures can be taken to mediate child protection in Australia:
1. The groups (healthcare, midwives, teachers, counselors etc) which handle children or young people should be familiar with the vulnerable status.
2. Support should be given to nurses and midwives who report child abuse and/or neglect. This can be mediated via counseling or training.
3. There should be a greater degree of understanding that child abuse usually affects a child’s emotional and psychological health, causing a hindrance in a child’s physical and emotional health as well as their development, learning and self-esteem, which might be detrimental in long run.
Evidence of child maltreatment and child protection
4. According to State or Te
itory law, nurses and midwives posses a duty to take care of children, adolescents, young adults. According to law, they have a statutory obligation for notifying any case of child abuse or neglect, if suspected.
5. Policies, protocols and reporting guidelines related to reporting of child abuse must be notified by the employersto all its employees.Employers should support nurses and midwives to perform their mandatory reporting obligations as per these guidelines.
6. Necessary education or training should be provided to nurses and midwives w.r.t their legislative and organisational obligations in reporting child abuse and/or neglect.
7. Sufficient funding should be provided by the government for the services for investigating child abuse and neglect.
8. Those groups who work with children, adolescents, young adults and their families should be provided with necessary skills to evaluate, recognize, and report for the management of child abuse/neglect cases.
9. Providing community education for creating awareness with regards to promoting and enhancing safety and welfare of children and young people. Awareness should also be provided with respect to subjects such as impact of child abuse on children and their families.
According to Tavish et al. 2017, following recommendations can be made for preventing child abuse or for...