G306(P) Assessment of knowledge of looked-after status in a children’s hospital

AimsTo provide a rapid assessment of baseline knowledge of who qualifies as a Looked After Child (LAC) among the staff of a Children’s Hospital.MethodsStaff were approached by one of the authors during their working day and asked to complete a 9-item questionnaire (Table 1). Staff had no prior knowledge of this assessment.Results104 questionnaires (from 21 consultants, 23 junior doctors and 60 nurses) were completed. This assessment was carried out over two working weeks and the estimated average time for completion of the questionnaire was 30 s.Taken together, participants scored a mean of 65.8% (5.91 out of a total of 9). Of these, consultants, junior doctors and nurses respectively scored 68.8% (mean 6.19, SD 1.12); 66.2% (mean 5.95, SD 1.29) and 64.4% (mean 5.8, SD 1.35) of questions correctly. These differences between the groups were not statistically different (F=0.72, p = 0.49).Abstract G306(P) Table 1 Which of these children are LAC? Q1 A child in foster care under a care order Yes No Q2 A child at home under a care order Yes No Q3 A child sectioned under the Mental Health Act Yes No Q4 A child on a Child Protection Plan Yes No Q5 A child in voluntary foster care with a grandparent Yes No Q6 An adopted child Yes No Q7 A child in a secure unit Yes No Q8 A child in hospital for > 100 days Yes No Q9 A child on a supervision order Yes No The % correct score for each question is shown in Figure 1. Only 2 questions had a correct response rate of less than 50%.ConclusionsThis questionnaire provides a rapid method of assessing knowledge levels about LAC among hospital staff. It can be used to monitor knowledge levels, raise awareness levels and to target training to specific groups of staff.Abstract G306(P) Figure 1Percentage of correct responses per question