Knowledge and Attitude of Pediatric Nurses in Saudi Arabia Regarding Child Abuse.

Background: Child abuse, especially when caused by the child's parents or caregivers, can be either physical, psychological, and/or sexual. Pediatric nurses should be able to identify cases of child abuse, provide appropriate care, and address the issue. Nurses' knowledge, attitudes in child abuse are essential in safeguarding the well-being and safety of those children. This study aimed to investigate pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitude about child abuse and actions taken to address such abuse. Methods: Seventy pediatric nurses working in one educational hospital in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia participated in the study. This study followed a quantitative design. A self-administrative questionnaire was distributed to pediatric nurses. A convenience sampling was followed to include the nurses who met the criteria. An adopted validated questionnaire was used for collecting data about nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding child abuse. The data was analyzed by SPSS with a descriptive analysis, independent t-tests or ANOVA test, and regression analysis. Results: The descriptive results indicate that participants had adequate knowledge for identifying a child as a probable victim of child abuse. All participants agreed that an important role for nurses in managing and preventing child abuse is present. The study also indicated a favorable attitude of pediatric nurses toward child abuse. Linear regression analysis showed that nurses age between 31 and 40 years were positively associated with nurses' knowledge of child abuse, nurses with fewer years of experience and nurses with experience in dealing with a victim of child abuse had a more favorable attitude. Conclusion: The study concludes that pediatric nurses have adequate knowledge and a positive attitude toward child abuse. Middle age was positively associated with nurses' knowledge of child abuse, while years of experience and experience in dealing with child abuse was inversely associated with nurses' attitude.

Illness Anxiety Disorder and Distress among Female Medical and Nursing Students.

Objective: This study aims to compare the prevalence of illness anxiety disorder (IAD) and distress between medical and nursing students and examine their associations with students' characteristics. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected using the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI, for measuring IAD) and the Medical Students' Disease (MSD) Perception and Distress Scales. Results: Two hundred and sixteen Medical students and 250 Nursing students were recruited from a public female university in Saudi Arabia. Their mean age was 21.27 years. The findings showed that the overall prevalence of IAD (SHAI scores ≥18) among the total sample was 38.8%, with a significantly lower prevalence in medical students compared to the prevalence in nursing students (57.2% vs 17.6%, respectively, X2=45.26, p<.001). Nursing students had significantly higher SHAI scores and lower MSD Perception scores than medical college students, but there were no significant differences among them in the MSD Distress scale. Significant differences in the main study variables scores were reported among nursing students but not among medical students, with the fourth-year level nursing students having higher SHAI and lower MSD Perception and perception scores than other nursing students. Conclusion: The highlights that medical and nursing students are susceptible to developing anxiety-related disorders and distress that may have negative impacts on their academic achievements and future careers. Both nursing and medical faculty should help in identifying strategies to support the students' mental health and well-being.

Attitudes of Critical Care Nurses towards Teamwork and Patient Safety in Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Assessment.

The study aimed to assess the teamwork and safety attitudes among the critical care unit (CCU) nurses in Saudi Arabia. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in public tertiary hospitals in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia. All participants answered a three-part questionnaire that included demographic data, a teamwork attitude questionnaire (T-TAQ), and the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). The analysis revealed that the majority of the nurses were female, n = 52 (76.5%), and almost half of the nurses were aged from 29 to 39 years, n = 29 (42.6%). Teamwork attitude values are found to be relatively stable in all subscales, ranging from 1.63 (SD = 1.23) to higher at 2.92 (SD = 1.32). Of the six dimensions of SAQ, job satisfaction (M = 70, SD 21.46) had the highest positive rate and was approached with a positive attitude, followed by teamwork (M = 66.09, SD 15.12) and safety climate (M = 67.11, SD 17.70). The analysis also shows work experience was the influencing factor of teamwork attitude and safety attitude of nurses, recording beta values of 0.24, p < 0.05 and 0.10, p < 0.001, respectively. The results also identified an association between teamwork and safety attitudes. The study reflected the positive attitudes towards teamwork and less positive attitudes toward patient safety among critical care nurses in Saudi Arabia. Collaborative team performance among nurses improves the medical care quality and patients' safety, decreasing the occurrence rate of adverse events.