Professional self-efficacy for responding to child abuse presentations
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-09-2017-0044 |
| Published date | 17 December 2018 |
| Date | 17 December 2018 |
| Pages | 81-92 |
| Author | Jennifer Anne Fraser,Tara Flemington,Diep Thi Ngoc Doan,Van Minh Tu Hoang,Binh Thi Le Doan,Tuan Manh Ha |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Children/youth,Parents,Education,Early childhood education,Home culture,Social/physical development |
Professional self-efficacy for responding
to child abuse presentations
Jennifer Anne Fraser, Tara Flemington, Diep Thi Ngoc Doan, Van Minh Tu Hoang,
Binh Thi Le Doan and Tuan Manh Ha
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to validate measures of professional self-efficacy for detecting and
responding to child abuse and neglect presentations, and then evaluate a clinical training programme for
health professionals in a tertiary-level hospital in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach –A prospective, cohort design was used and professional self-efficacy
was measured immediately prior to, and shortly after, training 116 nurses and doctors in emergency settings.
Longer-term follow-up was measured six months later.
Findings –Linear mixed modelling showed that there was a statistically significant improvement in efficacy
expectations for both suspected and known cases of child abuse and neglect between the pre- and
post-test measures at zero and six weeks. These improvements did not persist to the six-month follow-up.
Research limitations/implications –The training succeeded in improving detection and clinical response
to child abuse and neglect presentations but not faith in the provision of ongoing support for children
and families.
Practical implications –Practice change in emergency settings in Vietnam can be achieved using a
sustainable theoretically driven training programme.
Social implications –Building the capacity of health professionals to respond to cases of child abuse and
neglect relies on the strength of the community and support services within which the hospital is located.
Originality/value –Measures of self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations for responding to
child abuse and neglect presentations in emergency settings in Vietnam are now validated.
Keywords Vietnam, Child abuse, Healthcare professional, Efficacy expectations, Outcome expectations,
Professional self-efficacy
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Translating clinical research evidence into healthcare practice is essential in public health and
clinical healthcare. For this to occur, healthcare professionals must initiate and sustain changes
to their professional practice behaviours. Improvements in practice can be achieved through
theoretically based training interventions (Colquhoun et al., 2017) that aim to improve perceived
professional self-efficacy. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy has been used extensively in public
health research. Self-efficacy and its relationship to human behaviour were first described by
Bandura in the 1970s as an explanatory mechanism for the adoption of new behaviour patterns
(Bandura, 1977). It has since been applied in a number of settings, including healthcare
professional practice. Professional self-efficacy refers to the individual’s belief in their capability to
exercise control over their professional conduct and events in the workplace that impact on
their performance.
Application of the theory to professional practice and professional behaviour has gained
momentum as more is understood about the influence of personal beliefs on one’s ability to
perform work confidently. Increasing research effort now points to the success of improving
professional behaviours and practice by targeting professional self-efficacy because of its
influence on attitudes and performance. For example, a training intervention for third-year nursing
Received 28 September 2017
Revised 9 August 2018
Accepted 13 September 2018
The authors wish to thank
Dr Ho Lu Viet, Head of
Department of Training, Research,
Public Health and International
Cooperation Children’s Hospital 2
who played a lead role in the
governance of this study.
Jennifer Anne Fraser is
Associate Professor at the
Sydney Nursing School, The
University of Sydney, Sydney,
Australia.
Tara Flemington is based at the
Sydney Nursing School, The
University of Sydney, Sydney,
Australia.
Diep Thi Ngoc Doan is
Associate Professor at the
Department of Medicine,
University of Medicine and
Pharmacy of Ho Chi Minh City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Van Minh Tu Hoang is based at
the Children’s Hospital 2,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Binh Thi Le Doan and
Tuan Manh Ha are both based
at the Department of Medicine,
Children’s Hospital 2,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
DOI 10.1108/JCS-09-2017-0044 VOL. 13 NO. 3/4 2018, pp. 81-92, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660
j
JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
j
PAG E 81
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