Objective: This study aimed to investigate the nursing students’ knowledge and awareness levels regarding child neglect and abuse.
Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing between May and June 2018. The data were collected by the researcher using a questionnaire and the “Scale for the Identification of Symptoms and Risks of Child Neglect and Abuse”. For the evaluation of the data, in addition to descriptive statistical methods (mean, standard deviation), for the comparison of the quantitative data Mann Whitney U and for the multiple group evaluations Kruskal Wallis tests and Chi square were used. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Institutional and ethics committee permits were obtained for the research.
Results: It was determined that the mean scores of the students was 20.16 ± 1.32, the majority of the students were female (84.9%), they graduated from Anatolian High School (60.7%), 42.2% lived in the city and 82.5% had nuclear families. 29.4% of the students were educated about child neglect and abuse, and 63.0% of these students received the related education in a school-based course. The mean scores of the students regarding child neglect and abuse was 3.7 ± 0.3 and the level of their knowledge was found to be moderate. The mean scores of female students regarding child neglect and abuse was higher than male students (p<0.0001) and the knowledge level of those who were educated about this issue was higher than those who did not and the difference between the groups was significant (p<0.0001).
Conclusions: The study showed that the mean scale scores of the students regarding child neglect and abuse were moderate.
