An Intervention to Improve the Comfort and Satisfaction of Nurses in the Telephone Triage of Child Maltreatment Calls

Hunter, J.

Pediatric Nursing 41(6): 296-300

2015


ISSN/ISBN: 0097-9805
PMID: 26837100
Document Number: 681491
Nurses are mandated reporters of actual or suspected child maltreatment or the threat thereof. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine the knowledge and comfort of nurses in telephone triage in pediatric clinics when dealing with suspected or actual child abuse calls. Nurses (N = 17) from three pediatric primary care clinics and one specialty care orthopedic clinic were surveyed. Based on results of the survey showing a lack of knowledge and adequate referral resources perceived by the nursing staff, resources and staff education were developed, along with a script for guiding maltreatment calls toward standardization of care. Following the intervention, nurses reported an increased comfort level when doing telephone triage for child maltreatment calls, an increase in knowledge of risk factors for county resources. Further, they reported a substantial shift in opinion about the need for a standardized script when responding to child maltreatment telephone calls. Nurses undertaking telephone triage of high-risk child maltreatment calls can improve their comfort and knowledge through a survey of their needs and directed education and resource development for the management of child maltreatment telephone triage.

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