TY - JOUR
T1 - Invisibility of nurses and midwives in the public health response to child abuse and neglect
T2 - A policy review
AU - Lines, Lauren Elizabeth
AU - Kakyo, Tracy Alexis
AU - Grant, Julian Maree
AU - Hutton, Alison
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded by a Flinders Foundation Health Seed Grant 2020. The funding organisation had no role in the research process or any decisions about publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Child abuse and neglect need to be addressed through a public health approach that prioritises prevention and early intervention. Nurses and midwives are core to this public health response, yet little is known about how their roles are described in Australian policy. Aim: To explore how nurses’ and midwives’ roles in a public health response to child abuse and neglect are described in Australian policies about child protection, health, welfare, or development. Methods: This policy review used Internet searching to identify Australian policy documents relating to child protection, health, welfare, or development published from 2009 to 2021. Data were analysed using deductive coding and content analysis. Findings: Nurses’ and midwives’ contributions to a public health response to child abuse and neglect were either absent or described in scant detail within Australian policy. The information that was available represented only a portion of nursing and midwifery practices from a limited range of practice contexts. Discussion: A lack of visibility and clarity of nurses’ and midwives’ roles in policy raises many challenges. This includes a lack of guidance for interdisciplinary collaboration, educational preparation of nurses and midwives, and appropriate resourcing for their interventions. Further research is urgently needed to guide future best-practice policy and practices for nurses’ and midwives’ contributions to a public health response to child abuse and neglect. Conclusion: An enhanced representation of nurses’ and midwives’ roles in Australian policy is required to guide a public health approach that promotes better outcomes for all children.
AB - Background: Child abuse and neglect need to be addressed through a public health approach that prioritises prevention and early intervention. Nurses and midwives are core to this public health response, yet little is known about how their roles are described in Australian policy. Aim: To explore how nurses’ and midwives’ roles in a public health response to child abuse and neglect are described in Australian policies about child protection, health, welfare, or development. Methods: This policy review used Internet searching to identify Australian policy documents relating to child protection, health, welfare, or development published from 2009 to 2021. Data were analysed using deductive coding and content analysis. Findings: Nurses’ and midwives’ contributions to a public health response to child abuse and neglect were either absent or described in scant detail within Australian policy. The information that was available represented only a portion of nursing and midwifery practices from a limited range of practice contexts. Discussion: A lack of visibility and clarity of nurses’ and midwives’ roles in policy raises many challenges. This includes a lack of guidance for interdisciplinary collaboration, educational preparation of nurses and midwives, and appropriate resourcing for their interventions. Further research is urgently needed to guide future best-practice policy and practices for nurses’ and midwives’ contributions to a public health response to child abuse and neglect. Conclusion: An enhanced representation of nurses’ and midwives’ roles in Australian policy is required to guide a public health approach that promotes better outcomes for all children.
KW - Child
KW - Child Abuse
KW - Child Health
KW - Midwifery
KW - Nursing
KW - Public Health
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U2 - 10.1016/j.colegn.2022.09.002
DO - 10.1016/j.colegn.2022.09.002
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85138218342
JO - Collegian: The Australian Journal of Nursing Practice, Scholarship and Research
JF - Collegian: The Australian Journal of Nursing Practice, Scholarship and Research
SN - 1322-7696
ER -