Childhood sexually transmitted diseases and child sexual abuse: results of a Canadian survey of three professional groups

The purpose of this national survey was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of Canadian health and social services professionals about the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in children and its implications for child sexual abuse. A mailed questionnaire was sent to a randomly selected sample of 4,500 nurses, physicians, and youth/social workers across the country. Response rates varied from over 60% of nurses and youth/social workers to only 38% of the physicians. Nurses and youth/social workers were younger than physicians, had a proportionately higher number of females within their groups, and more frequently reported that they had or might have been sexually abused as children. Although there was no statistically significant difference among the groups on the composite knowledge score, physicians scored higher than the other two groups on knowledge about STDs, and youth/social workers had the highest knowledge scores about sexual abuse. Some differences in attitudes among the groups were also noted. Overall, the rates of respondents reporting confidence in their ability to treat children with STDs or child sexual abuse were low (26% and 35% respectively). This paper presents the overall results of the survey, and makes recommendations for strategies to enhance professional expertise in the area.