Preservice education for interprofessional public health responses to child maltreatment: Australian stakeholder perspectives of key regulatory, sociocultural and professional challenges

Background: Child maltreatment is an international public health issue that requires interprofessional collaboration across all sectors providing services for children and families. Effective collaborative interprofessional responses are underpinned by professionals who are equipped with knowledge, skills and values to respond to children’s complex health, wellbeing and developmental needs. However, little is known about how health and welfare professionals are equipped during preservice education to prepare for interprofessional public health responses to child maltreatment. 

Purpose: Using a qualitative World Café approach, this study aimed to engage key professional stakeholders in discussions about what is needed in child protection interprofessional education for preservice health and welfare professionals in Australia. 

Research Design and Study Sample: Three online roundtables were held with a total of twenty-five participants, inclusive of nurses, midwives, and social workers, in education, research, and practice. 

Data Analysis: Inductive analysis identified how the interplay of broader political, sociocultural and regulatory factors results in failure to equip graduates for interprofessional public health responses to child maltreatment. 

Results: Key challenges included a perceived lack of leadership from governments, no shared interprofessional definitions, inadequate resourcing for early support, and local barriers to implementing interprofessional education. Coordinated national leadership by and across governments and professional regulatory bodies was identified as essential to underpin a shared vision and adequate resources for sustained change. 

Conclusions: As change gathers momentum, higher education institutions are optimally positioned to address challenges of interprofessional education for public health responses to child maltreatment for all professionals who will work with children. Ongoing commitment is needed across all sectors, including government, professional regulators and higher education, to establish a shared vision that underpins interprofessional understanding of roles and core knowledge, skills and values for graduates.