Knowledge, Attitudes and Eductional Experiences of a Group of Egyptian Dental Students Regarding Physical Child Abuse: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and educational experiences of a group of Egyptian dental students regarding PCA. Participants and methods: A cross-sectional study with convenient consecutive sampling was conducted on a group of Egyptian dental students in three different dental classes (third, fourth, and fifth) in the Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, during the academic year 2019-2020. The data were collected through an anonymous, self-administrated structured questionnaire. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The response rate was 75.2 % (n=489/650) including 47.65% males and 52.35% females. Half of the respondents believed that strong correlation existed between dental neglect and presence of PCA. About 79.92% of the respondents believed that dentists were legally required to report child abuse. Most students indicated that their dental school was the main source of information about this topic. Only 20.55% of the respondents had received enough formal training in recognition and reporting PCA. Conclusion: Egyptian dental students have insufficient knowledge about PCA, and dental curriculum should be modified.