A systematic review and meta‑analysis of failure to take history as a barrier of reporting child abuse by dentists in private and state clinics

Abstract

Background: Since the symptoms of child abuse and neglect often manifest in the orofacial region,
the dental team has a key role in identifying children subjected to abuse. This study was aimed to
explore the prevalence of failure to take history as a barrier to reporting child abuse by dentist
around the world.
Materials and Methods: In this systematic review and meta‑analysis, PubMed, Embase, Scopus,
Google Scholar, ProQuest, Cochrane, and ISI databases were searched for the cross‑sectional
articles in English languages on barriers to reporting child abuse and lack of knowledge about
referral procedures by dentists since 1985 using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). The full‑texts of
all included articles were obtained and assessed for quality according to Newcastle–Ottawa Scale
adapted for cross‑sectional studies. The qualified articles were then studied thoroughly and results
were extracted. Data were analyzed by Comprehensive Meta‑Analysis software using meta‑analysis
and random effects model. Heterogeneity was determined by Q‑test and I‑square index.
Results: A total of 17 articles were included in the meta‑analysis. The prevalence of lack of
knowledge about referral procedures as a barrier was determined according to the meta‑analysis
of the number of relevant articles and was (55%, confidence interval: 0.48, 0.62).
Conclusion: The analysis of various studies revealed lack of information about referral procedures
as an important barrier to report child abuse by dentists.
Key Words: Child abuse, dentist, knowledge, referral