Abstract

Objective: To assess the readiness to implement child maltreatment (CM) prevention programs at a national level.

Study design: This is a cross-sectional study.

Methods: This study was completed alongside similar studies undertaken by the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The study will allow further understanding of possible obstacles that may be encountered while implementing a nationwide prevention program. The 10-dimensional model of readiness had been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with five countries (Brazil, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa) through a five-stage process. Stakeholders and decision makers were invited to participate. Scores for each dimension were compared with those for the rest of the GCC countries.

Results: The overall score of Kuwait was 39.17 out of 100. This was below the mean average score for the GCC countries (47.83). Out of the 10 dimensions, key informants scored the highest on legislation, mandates and policies (6.61). The lowest score was reported on attitudes towards CM prevention (1.94). Informal social resources (5.72) ranked the highest as compared to the rest of the GCC countries.

Conclusions: The readiness of Kuwait is weak on several dimensions and needs to be strengthened. Despite that, the country is moderately ready to implement large-scale evidence-based CM prevention programs because it is strong in the infrastructure of knowledge, legislation, mandates, and policies and informal social resources.

Keywords: Child maltreatment; Key informant; Kuwait; WHO.