Description: This data set contains responses of key informants (who are the main actors in CMP in the country and at the provincial level) on the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions concerning child maltreatment prevention. This field trail was conducted in 2011.

The response rate was 78.8 percent. This data set has 154 variables 41 cases. Abstract: This study aimed to systematically assess the readiness of the country (South Africa) to implement evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs on a large scale. To this end, it applied a recently developed method called Readiness Assessment for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment based on two parallel 100-item instruments. The first data set measures the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs concerning child maltreatment prevention of key informants; the second, completed by child maltreatment prevention experts using all available data in the country, produces a more objective assessment readiness. The instruments cover all of the main aspects of readiness including, for instance, availability of scientific data on the problem, legislation and policies, will to address the problem, and material resources.

Key informant scores were moderately low for the majority of the dimensions that is, between 3.5 and 6 points out of 10. Major gaps identified in South Africa included a lack of professionals with the skills, knowledge, and expertise to implement evidence-based child maltreatment programs and of institutions to train them; inadequate funding, infrastructure, and equipment; extreme rarity of outcome evaluations of prevention programs; and lack of national prevalence surveys of child maltreatment. In sum, the country is in a low to moderate state of readiness to implement evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs on a large scale. Such an assessment of readiness, the first of its kind, allows gaps to be identified and then addressed to increase the likelihood of program success.

For more information pertaining to this study, visit the WHO web portal: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/child/cmp_readiness/en/

Face-to-face interview

Key informants from all main relevant organizations and sectors were included. This research did not directly involve victims or perpetrators of child maltreatment or patients of any sort.

Interviewees were selected purposively to represent a variety of state, government, non-governmental, academic, research, civil society organisations and international agencies that have child welfare and child development mandate at national and provincial level. The criterion was that the organisations should be currently providing child maltreatment prevention programmes or have programmes that can potentially integrate child maltreatment prevention into their existing services. Participants were recruited from the health (non-communicable and chronic diseases, child and adolescent health), social welfare, law-making institutions, university teaching departments and research units; NGOs that provide child protection and care programmes; as well as UN agencies and international NGOs. The interviewees were professionals and leaders in these agencies and were selected because of their expertise, current or potential role in the child care and protection field.