Background: Child maltreatment is considered a global problem that has serious consequences for a victim's physical and mental well-being. Nurses interact with children and their families at different levels of health care. All nurses must be able to identify children who are at risk of harm or abuse, and act accordingly. Aims: The purpose of the study was to investigate barriers that inhibit reporting suspected cases of child abuse and neglect by nurses at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One hundred and forty-five nurses from all paediatric settings participated in the study using non-probability "convenience" sampling technique and a descriptive design was used. A structured self-report data collection method was applied to elicit data about the participants' knowledge and circumstances that prevent them from reporting child abuse. Results: It was found that only one fifth (20.7%) of nurses had attended either a lecture or workshop on child abuse and neglect (CAN). Two fifths (40.7%) of participants had a knowledge score on CAN more than 75% while one third (33.1%) had a knowledge score ranging from 50% to 75% with a median score of knowledge of 63.10 ± 25.48. Furthermore, more than half (51%) of participants were aware of the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team in the hospital. When participants were asked about the circumstances when they would not report suspected CAN cases, "I was not certain that the child was abused" was reported by 78.6%. Other barriers that inhibit reporting of child abuse and neglect are ignorance about how to report, in addition to having previous negative experiences after reporting. Conclusions: The findings of the current study indicated that there exist barriers for not reporting suspected cases of child abuse and that availability of training and educational programmes are needed. Establishment of a clear and structured child protection policy to enable nurses to report abuse victims is recommended.

The study findings support the hypothesis that nursing education programmes need to improve the curricular content related to the assessment and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect, and prevention strategies to improve the wellbeing of children. Curricular changes have the potential to provide nurses with an opportunity to reduce the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in India.

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