[Problem of violence in family in the opinion of health service workers].

UNLABELLED: Violence in family is an intentional physical abuse of a family member, frequently a child, violating the victim's rights and causing suffering and damages. Helping the child demands integrated efforts of many experts as well as making the society more sensitive to the problems of children. The aim of this work is to present the opinions and social attitudes of Health Service workers concerning the problem of child abuse. The authors have undertaken the problem of abusing children, to become acquainted with opinions of people working with children on different aspects of treating children by their parents. A questionnaire was used to study the interfamily relations and to answer the following questions: should we intervene and help the victims of violence, do we use too severe punishment in Polish families, is child abuse common in Polish families, is beating a child recognized as an educational method. The study group included Health Service workers--nurses and doctors as well as academic teachers and students of the Medical University of Silesia.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: investigations are continued.