title: Croatian dentists' knowledge, experience, and attitudes in regard to child abuse and neglect.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a widespread social phenomenon encompassing all forms of maltreatment with serious lifelong consequences. Dentists and dental team members are in the unique position to identify the symptoms of CAN often visible in craniofacial region.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate Croatian dentists' level of knowledge, experience, and attitude towards CAN issue.
  
  
  METHODS
  Investigation was conducted in five major Croatian cities (Zagreb, Varaždin, Osijek, Rijeka, and Split). A previously used questionnaire regarding knowledge and experience in child protection was adopted to Croatian terminology and distributed to 544 dentists.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 510 dentists who returned a questionnaire with valid data 26.27% reported to have had suspicion of CAN during professional career and 5.1% reported their suspicion within the last 6 months, mostly to social services and police. Fear of violence towards the child and uncertainty about observations were the most frequently reported barriers towards referring and only 11.4% knew the procedure. About 80% of respondents want further training in identifying and reporting of physical abuse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Study showed a lack of knowledge and uncertainty in recognizing and reporting CAN cases in Croatian dentists. They expressed the need for undergraduate and post-graduate continuing education on this issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Department of Dental Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cukovic-Bagic
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Anthropology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dumancic
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics, Epidemiology and Medical Informatics, School of Public Health "Andrija Štampar", School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kujundzic Tiljak
authors.affiliation: Private Dental Office, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Drvaric
authors.affiliation: Private Dental Office, Varazdin, Croatia.
authors.forename: Biserka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boric
authors.affiliation: Clinical Hospital Center, Osijek, Croatia.
authors.forename: Vlatko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kopic
authors.affiliation: Public Dental Office, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krupic
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Danko
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bakarcic
authors.affiliation: Dental Polyclinic, Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Marijo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Budimir
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Dentistry, University of Glasgow Dental School, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Welbury
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002669:Child Welfare; D017523:Croatia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D030881:Disclosure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police; D024382:Professional Role; D012947:Social Work; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires