Child Abuse

This proposal responds to NIMH Objective 4.2.c to develop "decision-support tools and technologies that increase the effectiveness and continuous improvement of mental health interventions" by leveraging the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) policy opportunity. First, a web-based platform to host (a) a decision-support tool and (b) automated facilitation for group decisions with the tool will be developed with state partners' feedback. Next, decision makers leading their states' FFPSA quality improvement efforts will be engaged to pilot a decision-support intervention comprised of the tool and live or automated facilitation, and to evaluate the implementation quality of evidence-based programs adopted with the decision-support intervention.

This study involves a randomized controlled trial of Fathers for Change (F4C) compared to Individual Drug Counseling (IDC) with a sample of 280 fathers enrolled in substance use (SU) treatment within community or veterans (VA) healthcare settings to (a) demonstrate F4C efficacy compared to IDC in reducing SU and family violence (FV) at end of treatment, 3- and 6-month post-treatment follow-up, and (b) document improved emotion regulation as the mechanism within F4C that results in reduced SU and FV.

This randomized controlled study aims to evaluate the effect of a child abuse and neglect awareness training program on the knowledge and awareness levels of nursing students. Child abuse and neglect remain significant global public health issues, and healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, play a key role in early recognition and intervention. The study will be conducted among undergraduate nursing students at a university in Istanbul, Turkey. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. Both groups will complete a pre-test to assess baseline knowledge levels. The experimental group will receive a structured training program on child abuse and neglect delivered by an expert nurse working at a Child Advocacy Center under the Ministry of Health, while the control group will not receive any intervention during the study period. One month after the intervention, both groups will complete a post-test to assess changes in knowledge and awareness levels. The primary outcome of the study is the difference in awareness test scores between the pre-test and post-test. The findings are expected to contribute to improving educational strategies and enhancing the competencies of future nurses in recognizing and managing child abuse and neglect cases.

Montefiore will engage fathers in families at risk of substance misuse in the Bronx and neighboring communities. Families will be referred from Bronx and neighboring community-based child welfare systems, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, and medical providers if identified at risk of substance use concerns and will be randomly assigned to receive services as usual as part of the comparison group, or to receive enhanced services as part of the program group. Enhanced services include: (1) Motivational Enhancement; (2) referral to Healthy, Empowered, Resilient, and Open (HERO) Dads fatherhood engagement program; (3) Contingency Management; and (4) Case Management.

Phase 1 was a randomized control trial that used a test-retest model to evaluate the impact of iLook Out for Child Abuse, an online, interactive learning module about reporting suspected child abuse. Delivered via a learning management system to early childhood professionals who work with infants and young children, this study assessed iLookOut's effect on 1) knowledge about reporting suspected child abuse; 2) attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse; and 3) preparedness to protect children at risk. Findings from Phase 1 were that iLookOut will improved knowledge, changed attitudes, and increase self-reported preparedness of early childhood providers to report suspected child abuse. Phase 2 of this trial is an open-enrollment study that records pre-/post- data on the same measurements as Phase 1, and is available for use (free of charge) for all childcare providers in Pennsylvania at https://www.ilookoutforchildabuse.com.

The objectives of this retrospective dental record study, are to increase knowledge of the oral health, - history and -needs of children enrolled at the Childrens Advocacy Centers (CAC)by: * assessing if it is possible to identify oral indicators of child maltreatment. * assessing if and to what degree the children enrolled at CAC are in need of close, adapted and trauma sensitive treatment and follow up at the Public Dental Health Service (PDHS) * assessing if there is a need for new routines in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration and sharing of information between CAC, Child Welfare Services (CWS) and PDHP. By increasing knowledge in regard to child maltreatment and oral health, the study will raise PDHS and CAC ability to prevent, detect and help children being victims of maltreatment, and contribute to strengthen PDHS, CAC and CWS interdisciplinary interaction for the benefit of children at risk.

The "Sentinella" project aims to improve the early recognition and prevention of child maltreatment by creating a digital registry and education network for healthcare professionals. The study will test a new online registry built on the REDCap platform to collect standardized, anonymous data about suspected cases of abuse or neglect. It also includes a structured training program for pediatricians and other healthcare workers to strengthen their skills in identifying and reporting maltreatment. This observational study will assess how easy the registry is to use and whether the training improves participants' knowledge and reporting practices. The project is expected to enhance collaboration between hospitals and community services, reduce reporting delays, and create a model for regional or national systems to protect vulnerable children.

This proposed randomized controlled trial will examine whether gamified micro-learning is a feasible and effective way to promote long-term learning about child abuse and its reporting. After completing the interactive online learning program, iLookOut for Child Abuse, early childhood professionals will receive brief (5-10 minute) gamified learning exercises to complete on their smart-phones. By measuring knowledge (and other outcomes) over time, the investigators will determine how much knowledge decays over various time periods, how well micro-learning can remediate that decay, and whether such a 2-phase intervention is feasible for helping early childhood professionals be better prepared to identify and report suspected child abuse.

The purpose of the proposed randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in reducing parental burnout and improving children's emotional and behavioral adjustment in families in Hong Kong over 3 months after the intervention. The findings will provide valuable and scientific insights to inform better parenting interventions and child protection policies.

The main aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, preliminary effects and experiences of the Collaboration-Screening-Referral approach (in Swedish: Samverkan-Screening-Hänvisning - SSH) when used with parents referred to the Swedish child welfare services. The SSH is an approach to screen parents for symptoms of mental illness using structured questionnaires, establish intra-agency collaboration, and refer to mental health services. Additionally, to increase social workers\' competence in assessing and handling mental illness through receiving training in the SSH and administering the screening to parents. The main questions the project aims to answer are: * Are parents engaged with child welfare services willing to undergo screening for symptoms of depression and anxiety? * How have the implementation of the SSH proceeded and to what degree is it sustained? * How do parents and social workers experience the SSH? * Do social workers' behaviors, knowledge and competence relevant to supporting parents with mental illness increase when implementing the SSH? Social workers answer questions before and after their training and after 6 and 12 months. Additionally, social workers and parents will be interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative within-group analyses will be conducted to examine experiences and preliminary effects of the SSH.

Child abuse stands as a global public health crisis, impeding the natural growth and development of children. The repercussions of abuse extend beyond immediate trauma, resulting in heightened medical costs and enduring health consequences that may persist into adulthood. These consequences encompass a spectrum of issues, including attachment disorders, behavioral abnormalities, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, altered neurobiological structures, suicidal ideation, risky sexual practices, and susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections. The detrimental impact of any form of child abuse lingers into the adult lives of affected individuals. This study aims to determine the Predictors of Child Abuse among School Going Children and the Impact of Structural Training on Child Abuse Among School Teachers of Dhulikhel Municipality in selected schools of Dhulikhel Municipality. Employing descriptive-analytical, true-experimental, and qualitative research designs, the study involves children aged ≥ 11 and teachers across diverse schools. A purposeful sample technique will be used to select teachers to explore school teachers' strategies in supporting students experiencing childhood violence. A simple stratified sampling technique will be used to select schools and a simple random sampling technique will be used to select the required number of students. Subsequently, one group of teachers undergoes comprehensive training on child protection recognition and response, while another does not. Following a two-week intervention, Investigators will conduct a posttest to evaluate teachers' knowledge and attitudes. To ensure clarity, both standard and self-constructed research tools will be translated into Nepali. Subsequently, these tools will be employed for data collection. The gathered information will be entered into an Excel datasheet and later transferred to Stata version 13 for a comprehensive analysis involving both descriptive and inferential statistics.