Hvorfor unnlater tannhelsepersonell å utøve meldeplikten?

English summary Why do public dental health care personnel avoid to report suspected child abuse to the child welfare center? Nor Tannlegeforen Tid. 2024; 134: 808-16. Health personnel in Norway are mandated to report suspected child maltreatment to the Child Welfare Services, CWS. Globally about 40 million children experience maltreatment annually, but child maltreatment is underestimated and underreported. This study is based on data from the project ‘Children at risk and oral health’ https://www.barnirisikoogoralhelse.no/ at the Oral Health Center of Expertise in Western Norway and has the following questions – What is the prevalence of dental health care workers’ reported reasons for not sending a report of concern to the CWS and how does those reasons vary according to socio-demographic factors and attitudes towards the CWS. In 2019, a total of 1 270 employees in the public dental care services completed an electronic questionnaire survey. About one third and more than one half confirmed not having sent a report of concern and positive attitudes towards CWS, respectively. The most frequents reason were ‘unsure about own evaluations’ and ‘being afraid for failure’, whereas being afraid of how the CWS handle reports were less frequent. Being afraid of making a mistake and lack of knowledge about child maltreatment were most frequent among those with negative attitudes. Knowledge about child maltreatment should be strengthened among health personnel and reduction of negative attitudes towards CWS achieved through increased information about the working routines in the CWS.