Are we educating the future workforce for interprofessional responses to child maltreatment? An exploratory study

Background: Public health responses to child maltreatment enable prevention and early support.Little is known about what education, health, and welfare professionals receive in preparation for collaborative interprofessional responses to preventing and responding to child maltreatment.Aim: This study explored university educators' perspectives on curriculum for three frontline professions (nursing, midwifery, and social work) in Australia to identify where curriculum incorporated interprofessional public health responses to child maltreatment.Methods: Two-phase interpretive descriptive design; Phase One was a cross-sectional survey and Phase Two involved qualitative interviews.In Phase One, 35 nursing, midwifery, and social work educators participated in an online survey via Qualtrics, and data were analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 27.In Phase Two, semistructured interviews were conducted with five educators, and data were analysed thematically.Findings: Less than half (44.1%) of respondents indicated a dedicated topic about child protection within curriculum for nurses, midwives, or social workers, and none incorporated interprofessional prevention and early support.Perceived barriers included over-emphasis on statutory responses and inconsistent disciplinary perspectives.Discussion: Without foundational skills for interprofessional practice, health and welfare professionals cannot effectively respond to child maltreatment, perpetuating its severe and lasting impacts.Further research is needed to explore opportunities for developing and implementing interprofessional education about child maltreatment into preservice curriculum.Conclusion: Further work must identify core knowledge, skills, and values for health and welfare professionals, and how they can be equipped for collaborative prevention and early support for child maltreatment.