Abuse and neglect are difficult topics that students interested in both healthcare and education career paths must learn about. As future mandated reporters, it’s important that these students have adequate training on identifying and reporting child and elder abuse. Denise DuBois, Realityworks Product Manager, recently presented a webinar in which she shared a wealth of tips and resources to help teachers approach these delicate topics with their students. Here are some of the insights she shared.
Why We Need To Prepare Our Future Mandatory Reporters
Each state has laws requiring certain people to report concerns of child abuse and neglect. While some states require all people to report their concerns, many states identify specific professionals as mandated reporters; these often include social workers, medical and mental health professionals, teachers, and childcare providers.
A 2020 article on mandatory child abuse reporting found that “mandatory reporting requirements are not well understood, resulting in unwarranted, poor-quality reports that negatively impact families and strain the child welfare system.” Improving the quality of reports is essential to reduce the trauma of unnecessary investigations for families and to let the child welfare system focus on children at the greatest risk of harm.
A lack of training in child abuse reporting could cost a life with nearly five children dying in the U.S. every day from abuse and neglect. Similarly, elder abuse is silent problem that robs seniors of their dignity, security, finances, and sometimes their lives. Training and education are key to stopping the cycles of abuse.
Free Resources:
- Database to search for mandatory reporting guidelines, manuals, information, and statutes by state
- The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System collects and analyzes data on child abuse and neglect in the U.S.
- An interactive map with information about reporting elder abuse in each state
- State-specific elder abuse hotlines
3 Best Practices for Teaching Abuse and Neglect Topics
1. Define Abuse and Neglect
The first best practice is to make sure your students are clearly able to define just what abuse and neglect are. There are four types of child abuse: physical, sexual, emotional/psychological, and neglect. Older adults experience all these as well with the addition of financial abuse. Search for or present information about these topics. Many students will be shocked and horrified to realize some children and elders experience these traumas.
2. Learn How To Identify Abuse and Neglect
Helping students understand how to identify each of the four types of abuse and neglect is very important in preparing them for their future careers. There are different warning signs for each kind of abuse that students can learn about. Being aware of these will help them gain confidence in their ability to identify abuse when they see it. Some examples of sexual abuse warning signs in children include sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and signs of trauma to the genitals. General signs of abuse in older adults include unexplained signs of injury and reports of drug overdoses.
There are many screening tools for mandatory reporters to use, such as the child protection assessment questionnaire and medical evaluations. There are also specific risk factors that could lead to each type of abuse. Seek out information to share with students that highlight risk factors, so they are further informed on what to look out for. For example, some risk factors for emotional abuse of children include caregivers with a history of being abused or neglected as a child and caregivers experiencing financial stress. Risk factors for elder abuse include institutions with low standards of health care for older adults and poorly trained staff.
3. Learn How To Report Abuse and Neglect
Teaching students how to report suspected abuse is key. Make sure students know that if someone is in immediate, life-threatening danger, students should call the authorities right away. They should not confront the alleged abuser. If they suspect someone has been or is being abused, they should tell someone, such as law enforcement, Child of Adult Protective Services, or hospital receiving staff.
Free Resources:
Lesson Plans
- Child Abuse the Hidden Epidemic is a lesson plan from Texas CTE comes with a slide presentation, handouts, and more
- Child Abuse Prevention Month Lesson Plans have dozens of lesson plans for different student age groups that can be used during child abuse prevention month
- Elder Abuse and Neglect Teaching Plan is a one-hour lesson plan on preventing, recognizing, and reporting abuse
- Introduction to Elder Abuse for Nursing Students is a 53-slide presentation
Scenarios
- Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect scenarios are for helping educators learn how to recognize child abuse and neglect
- Physical Abuse Scenarios from United Way includes three physical abuse scenarios that students can work through
- Elder Abuse Scenarios for Nursing Students has three scenarios for nursing students
- Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council has two physical and emotional abuse scenarios
Videos
- Recognizing Indicators of Child Abuse (3:58)
- Sexual Abuse In the Family (4:46)
- Elder Abuse Training Video (14:06)
- Elder Abuse Five Case Studies (3:01)
Kits and Simulators for Introducing Abuse and Neglect Topics
Elder and Child Abuse and Neglect Training Kits
Introduce students to the different types of elder and child abuse with the Elder Abuse Training Kit and Child Abuse and Neglect Training Kit. These unique kits address risk factors of abuse, how to identify and report it, and how to prevent it when possible. They include skin condition models that can be applied to human or manikin skin to create more realistic scenarios.
Each kit features scenario cards with several different situations for each type of abuse that students can work through. For example, one of the emotional child abuse scenarios has students imagine they are a physician’s assistant in a pediatrician’s office who witnesses a mother verbally abuse her child. The scenario card asks students to point out the warning signs of abuse, explain how they would report it, and describe some preventative measures that they could take.
These kits also come with student workbooks full of activities that go along with the scenario cards. For a closer look, you can check out samples of our child and elder abuse workbooks. Both kits include their own downloadable curriculum with a full lesson for each type of abuse for three to eight hours of teaching time.
RealCare™ Geriatric Simulator
Use the RealCare Geriatric Simulator to role-play a variety of abuse and neglect scenarios. Students can take turns acting as the aging adult and the healthcare worker. This simulator gives students the opportunity to walk in the shoes of vulnerable adults by allowing them to experience several age-related challenges, such as stooped posture and restricted range of motion.
This unique experience helps students develop sensitivity and understanding toward older adults. The simulator includes a sensitivity suit, walker, and curriculum. The suit features a weight vest, ankle and wrist weights, knee and elbow restraints, gloves, a cervical collar, and visual impairment glasses. The curriculum covers a variety of topics from exploring geriatrics to cognitive changes with aging.
RealCare Shaken Baby
The RealCare Shaken Baby simulator dramatically shows the effects of shaking on an infant’s brain. This simulator and included curriculum can help increase awareness of the dangers of child abuse. It allows students to witness the consequences of a caregiver’s unsafe choices and become motivated to prevent them.
More Resources
Looking for more for more information on teaching with scenarios and addressing sensitive topics? Here are some places to start:
- See how the Elder Abuse Training Kit is used to open Nebraska students’ eyes to elder abuse in this customer story
- Learn some tips and tricks for health science scenario success in this blog post
- Find even more free resources for teaching sensitive topics by watching DuBois’ full webinar below
