Preparing to protect? Early career nurses’ engagement with mandatory reporting of child maltreatment in Australia: Preliminary results/findings from a qualitative study
Background: Registered nurses are one of the most trusted professions and are ideally placed to recognise and report suspected child maltreatment. Unfortunately, they report at lower rates than other professions due to barriers, such as knowledge gaps, attitudes, and preconceptions. Improving undergraduate education could help address these barriers.
Aim: To explore factors influencing early career registered nurses’ (ECRNs’) engagement with mandatory reporting of suspected child maltreatment in Australia.
Method/approach: This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews analysed through an interpretive approach. Participants include ECRNs (≤2 years post-qualification) and nursing leaders and managers supporting ECRNs in clinical practice. Data collection and analysis are ongoing. Ethical approval was granted by Charles Sturt’s Human Research Ethics Committee (H24009).
Results/findings: Early analysis shows gaps in preservice education around recognising and reporting child maltreatment in Australian baccalaureate nursing programs. Both participant groups report ECRNs have limited confidence regarding detection, reporting processes, and system navigation. Some nursing leaders hold misconceptions about maltreatment, particularly neglect and psychological abuse. ECRNs feel under-prepared, with little expectation of encountering child protection concerns. Emotional and ethical challenges, workplace culture, and concerns about out-of-home care are further barriers to reporting.
Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest current undergraduate preparation may not adequately equip some registered nurses to recognise and respond to suspected child maltreatment, potentially affecting timely child protection responses. Ongoing analysis will further clarify these relationships.
Implications for children and families: Nurses play a very important role in ensuring children are safe. We need to make sure nurses know what to do when they are worried about kids like you, and who can help. They also have to learn to take care of their own feelings, because helping kids can be hard.
Implications for practitioners: Undergraduate nursing curricula should include structured, practice-focused mandatory reporting education covering maltreatment recognition, reporting pathways, and system processes. Organisational culture and leadership also warrant attention to support consistent reporting practice.
Keywords: child abuse and neglect, child maltreatment, mandatory reporting, registered nurses, education
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: