title: Child abuse and neglect: the knowledge and practice of the A & E nurse.
abstract: The recognition of child abuse depends greatly on the skills of the Accident and Emergency (A & E) nurse. A lot of what is written in the relevant literature is repetitive. Much is written about what A & E nurses should know and should do, but there appears to be no research which examines their actual skills and knowledge in this area. This article addresses this and by using a Constructivist approach for the inquiry, identifies what a group of A & E nurses know about child abuse and what they do when a possible victim presents to the department. It identifies some cases which need addressing, particularly knowledge of current policies, guidelines and legislation. Also identified are the skills A & E nurses possess and those they utilize. The paper concludes that further training and education is needed for multidisciplinary decision making about the role of the A & E nurse within the context of child abuse and neglect.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, St. Helens and Knowsley Hospital Trust, Whiston Hospital, Prescot, Merseyside, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fagan
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D019359:Knowledge; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires