Graduating nursing students' knowledge of child abuse

Abstract

The problem of this study was to compare the child abuse knowledge of student nurses prior to graduation from various degree levels of nursing schools. Four null hypotheses were tested in this study: (a) student nurses from all programs are equally prepared in terms of child abuse knowledge as determined by mean scores on the Child Abuse Knowledge Test; (b) the mean scores on the Child Abuse Knowledge Test of student nurses prepared in the baccalaureate programs will not differ from the average of the students from other types of programs in terms of child abuse knowledge; (c) student nurses prepared in the baccalaureate programs in 1986 are equally prepared in terms of child abuse knowledge as were the student nurses prepared in the same programs in 1977 as determined by mean scores on the Child Abuse Knowledge Test; and (d) student nurses having varied experiences in terms of child abuse will have equal scores on the Child Abuse Knowledge Test. The sample consisted of 581 graduating baccalaureate, associate, and licensed vocational nursing students from 21 schools. All of the students had received a child abuse unit of instruction prior to participation in the study. The questionnaires were administered in each school by the investigator and collected from the students after approximately 20 minutes. The students consented to participate in the study by completing the questionnaire. The data were analyzed utilizing MANOVA procedures. While the baccalaureate and associate degree means were not significantly different, both groups scored significantly higher (p > 0.0001) than the LVN group. All degree levels had a mean score below 85% correct. The means for the baccalaureate level scores were not significantly different from the average of the associate and licensed vocational students. Utilizing a t-test, there was no significant difference between the mean total scores of the 1987 and 1977 baccalaureate students. When the demographic questions were analyzed with a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial ANOVA, there were significantly higher means with personal experience with child abuse. Continuing education, increased emphasis of child abuse education in schools of nursing, and further research are recommendations based on the findings of this study.