The mediating role of nurses' attitude towards reporting child abuse and neglect.

PURPOSE: Attitudes towards reporting child abuse and neglect play a significant role in determining the tendency to report abuse and neglect. In addition, Cognitive Response Theory (Shen, 2020) suggests that individuals actively process messages by producing pro and/or counter arguments referred to as "Gain - loss thoughts". However, literature positioning the variable, attitudes towards reporting, as a mediator, as well as its importance, are limited. The purpose of the study was to investigate the mediating effect of pediatric nurses' attitudes between "gain-loss thoughts" and the tendency to report child abuse and neglect. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study examined 124 pediatric nurses working in central Israel's hospital departments concerning nurses' tendency to report (tendency to report = TTR), attitudes towards reporting, and "gain-loss thoughts" (positive and negative consequences for the child). RESULTS: Most of the nurses had professional experience of 11 years or more (n = 75; 62.5%). According to the findings, nurses' attitudes towards reporting mediate the effect of gain-loss on the TTR child abuse and neglect. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study contributed to our understanding of the importance of pediatric nurses' attitudes in determining the TTR abuse and neglect. Only nurses' positive attitudes towards reporting child abuse had a mediating effect on TTR. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Understanding the importance of attitudes and gain-loss thoughts can serve as a strategy for training programs and in the assimilation of reporting obligations by health professionals in general and nurses in particular.

Prevalence of faecal incontinence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: Severity and its relationship with quality of life.

AIMS: To describe the prevalence of faecal incontinence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, assess its severity, and correlation with quality of life. We adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines, STROBE method. DESIGN: Correlational-descriptive study. METHODS: Hebrew-speaking patients seen at an inflammatory bowel disease clinic in a large tertiary medical center in Jerusalem between February 2020 and December 2020 completed the Faecal Incontinence Severity Index and the Faecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale. RESULTS: Ninety-six patients participated in the study, of which 70 (72.9%) had Crohn's disease, and 26 (27.1%) had ulcerative colitis. Eighty-five (88.5%) reported faecal incontinence with an overall Faecal Incontinence Severity Index mean of 27.66 (SD 15.99), yet only 14 (14.7%) reported that their physician or nurse inquired about faecal incontinence. Quality of life scores for patients with faecal incontinence was the lowest on the coping/behaviour scale (M = 2.44; SD 0.94) and the highest on the depression/self-perception scale (M = 2.86; SD 1.04). Significant correlations were found between faecal incontinence severity and quality of life in all scales except for self-embarrassment. Moderate correlations in the same scales were noted in patients with Ulcerative Colitis, while no significant correlations were found in the Crohn's Disease group. CONCLUSION: A high proportion of inflammatory bowel disease patients reported faecal incontinence associated with impaired quality of life. Only a few were questioned about faecal incontinence by their physician or nurse. IMPACT: There is limited literature regarding the prevalence and severity of faecal incontinence in inflammatory bowel disease patients. A high proportion of patients reported faecal incontinence, which negatively correlated with quality of life. Physicians and nurses must inquire about faecal incontinence to improve patient care. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Organizational factors affecting nurses' tendency to report child abuse and neglect.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the factors that affect the tendency of nurses working in mother and child health clinics (MCHC) to report child abuse to the authorities. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE: Three hundred and forty-one female nurses working in MCHC across Israel. MEASUREMENTS: (1) Social and organizational variables; (2) the tendency to report child abuse and neglect; (3) attitudes toward reporting child abuse and neglect. RESULTS: On average, the participants perceived that they have good collaboration with other staff members and with welfare services. They showed a favorable attitude toward reporting child abuse, but less than half (44.8%) would report child abuse suspicion to the authorities. None of the organizational variables (MCHC type, collaboration among staff, collaboration with welfare services) were correlated with the tendency to report child abuse and neglect, yet all three variables were significantly correlated with attitudes toward reporting child abuse. Nurses' attitudes toward reporting were mediated by the organizational variables. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of the organizational factors on the actual tendency to report child abuse is mediated by nurses' attitude toward reporting. Organizational constraints probably encourage MCHC nurses to be cautious before reporting child abuse and neglect to the authorities, restricting adherence to the law, which requires direct reporting.