Peer-reviewed article
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Training Program on Violence against Children and Adolescents
Murilo Sabbag Moretti, Alex Sandro Gomes Pessoa ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study evaluated a 20-hour training program designed to help medical students and health professionals recognize and report cases of violence against children and adolescents. The program was tested with 105 participants across three groups: undergraduate students, postgraduate residents, and working professionals. After the training, all participants showed statistically significant improvements in their understanding and preparedness to handle violence cases, with no major differences between the three training levels. The findings suggest that such educational interventions can effectively improve health workers' capacity to identify and respond to child violence.
Key points
- Post-test results showed statistically significant changes in all evaluated dimensions after the training intervention
- No significant differences were found between undergraduate students, postgraduate residents, and working professionals in their response to training
- Training improved participants' previous conceptions about violence against children and adolescents
- Participants reported feeling more prepared to deal with demands related to violence cases after the program
- The study recommends that such content be incorporated into training at all levels, from undergraduate to continuing education
Limitations
The study used a non-equivalent control group design rather than randomization, which may introduce selection bias. The research does not report whether improvements in knowledge or perceived preparedness translated into actual changes in health professionals' reporting behavior or case identification in clinical practice.
Abstract
Abstract: Introduction: Assistance in health services is often the first possibility for the identification of cases of Violence Against Children and Teenagers (VACT). Therefore, the aim of this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program developed to enable students and health professionals to recognize and report cases of VACT. Additionally, we sought to verify at what level of training (undergraduate, postgraduate or working professional) such intervention would show the greatest effect. Method: This is a quasi-experimental study, of which design was based on the analysis of a non-equivalent Control Group (CG). The research included undergraduate medical students, postgraduate medical students attending pediatric residency and professionals working in health institutions. A total of 105 people participated, of which 89% were women. The participants were subsequently subdivided between the Experimental Group - EG (n = 60) and Control Group - CG (n = 45). A training program on the topic, consisting of 10 sessions (20h in total), was developed and applied with an EG. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, a questionnaire was applied at previously determined periods (pre-test and post-test). The data were submitted to statistical analysis (descriptive analyses, t test and Tukey’s multiple comparison test), using the software R. Results: The post-test showed statistically significant changes in all dimensions evaluated with the EG, which proves that the intervention resulted in changes regarding the previous conceptions that the participants had about VACT. Additionally, when comparing the responses obtained in the questionnaires between the three EG groups (undergraduate, postgraduate students and working professionals), it was verified that there were no statistical differences between the groups, suggesting that educational programs have positive effects on all levels of training. Conclusions: This study showed that training programs can qualify the conception of students and health professionals, as well as help them feel more prepared to deal with the demands related to VACT. However, a collective effort is needed so that these contents are purposefully incorporated into the training process at all levels, from undergraduate school to continuing education.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- A structured training program consisting of 10 sessions (20 hours total) on violence against children and adolescents
- Population
- 105 participants including undergraduate medical students, postgraduate medical students in pediatric residency, and working health professionals (89% women)
Key finding
Post-test showed statistically significant changes in all dimensions evaluated for the experimental group