Child Maltreatment Prevention Readiness Assessment in Oman

• Published in: Sultan Qaboos University medical journal Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 37 - 44
• Main Authors: Al Saadoon , Muna, Al-Eissa , Majid, Al Numani , Asia, Saleheen , Hassan, Al Muneef , Maha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Muscat - Oman Sultan Qaboos Uinversity : Academic Publication Board 01-02-2020; Sultan Qaboos University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences; Sultan Qaboos University; Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, College of Medicine & Health Sciences
• Subjects: Child; CHILD ABUSE; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - prevention & control; Childrens rights; Clinical & Basic Research; Collaboration; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Female; HEALTH PROGRAMMES; Humans; Interviews; Legislation; Male; Murders & murder attempts; OMAN; Prevention; Preventive Health Services; Professional ethics; Program Evaluation; Sex crimes; Studies; WHO; World Health Organization; إساءة معاملة الأطفال; البرامج الصحية; عمان; منظمة الصحة العالمية; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Child Maltreatment; Program Development; World Health Organization; Attitude; Oman
• ISSN: 2075-051X; 2075-0528
• DOI: 10.18295/squmj.2020.20.01.006

This study aimed to evaluate Oman’s readiness for implementing large-scale child maltreatment
prevention (CMP) programmes. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between May and August 2016 in
Oman. Participants, referred to as key informants, were individuals with influence and decision-making powers over
CMP. The multidimensional Readiness Assessment for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment tool, developed by the
World Health Organization with the help of collaborators from middle- and low-income countries, was used to assess 10
dimensions of readiness, each with a maximum score of 10. Results: A total of 49 participants were included in this study
(response rate = 98%). The mean total score for the 10 dimensions was 50.17 out of 100 possible points. The participants
showed high mean readiness scores on legislation, mandates and policies (9.08) followed by knowledge of CMP (7.55),
institutional resources and links (6.12), willingness to address the problem (5.35), informal social resources (5.15) and
current programme implementation and evaluation (5.10). Participants had low scores in readiness in association with
human and technical resources (2.44), attitudes towards CMP (2.90), scientific data on CMP (3.06) and material resources
(3.46). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that Oman has a moderate level of readiness to implement largescale evidence-based prevention programmes against child maltreatment; however, several dimensions still need to be
strengthened. It is important to develop a national strategy that outlines a framework for organising and prioritising
efforts towards CMP.