ESTUDO COMPARATIVO ENTRE A REDE PÚBLICA E PRIVADA SOBRE CONHECIMENTO E ATITUDE DE CIRURGIÕES-DENTISTAS EM CASOS DE MAUS-TRATOS INFANTIS

Abstract

Child Abuse has been a part of human history for centuries and represents a serious public health issue. Most injuries affect the head and neck area, positioning the Dentist in a strategic role in identifying these cases. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the knowledge and attitudes of Dentists working in public and private services regarding cases of Child Abuse in the municipality of Suzano-SP. Ninety professionals participated in the study, both male and female, with 45 from the Public Health Network (PHN) and 45 from Private Services (PS). They were invited in person to answer a semi-structured questionnaire covering topics related to professional identification, knowledge about the subject, conduct when handling cases, and their responsibility in reporting. After data collection, the results were analyzed and compared using Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests (α=5%). The professionals had an average age of 37.72 ± 12.64 years, with women being the majority in both groups (p<0.05). The PS group reported receiving information about the topic during their undergraduate studies (p<0.001), mainly in Pediatric Dentistry (75.6%) and Forensic Dentistry (53.3%) courses (p≤0.001), with theoretical classes (57.8%) being the most used teaching method (p<0.001). Professionals in the PHN group demonstrated greater knowledge and attitude compared to the PS group (p<0.001). Therefore, it can be concluded that PHN professionals showed better knowledge and attitude, and there is a need for educational strategies to increase awareness, leading to improvements in the identification and reporting of cases.