Pre-service education: What role does it play in addressing barriers to nurses reporting child maltreatment?:The role of pre-service education in addressing barriers to nurses reporting child maltreatment.

This abstract included both a poster and a 3-minute live presentation.<br/><br/>Background: Registered nurses are not reporting child maltreatment as frequently as other professions (AIHW, 2020).<br/>Low knowledge and poor confidence are barriers to mandatory reporting (Littler, 2018; Green, 2020).<br/>Nurses need:<br/>Opportunities to examine their attitudes and preconceptions around child maltreatment (Bluestone, 2005).<br/>Structured education around detecting the signs and symptoms of child maltreatment and how the child protection system works (Atencion et al., 2019; Feng &amp; Wu, 2005; Green, 2020; Lee &amp; Kim, 2018; Plitz &amp; Wachtel, 2009).<br/>Findings: Pre-service education is an ideal setting to give opportunities to<br/>examine attitudes and preconceptions, as well as facilitate improved<br/>knowledge (Bluestone, 2005; Poreddi, 2016).<br/>Significance: Pre-service education can address barriers to reporting such as poor confidence, low knowledge, and misconceptions about child maltreatment and mandatory reporting.<br/>Nurses with improved confidence and a more nuanced understanding of child maltreatment and the child protection system may be more likely to report their concerns in practice.