Receptivity to and Responsiblity for Partner Abuse Screening:

Receptivity to Screening

"102 female patients in the emergency department were surveyed to find out how women in the community would feel about being asked about domestic violence in their lives. 98% said they would not be opposed to being asked a screening question."
(News Release, 2001)


Nursing Inquiry and Professional Resposibility

"Partner violence is a serious health risk that must be addressed more reliably than it has been to this point. Women are being killed, beaten, raped and abused in a wide range of other ways without having a strong base of support in the medical care system to which they can turn to seek help. Women have more frequent contact with their health care providers than with any other formal system including law enforcement, prosecution, social service, or mental health. The nursing profession has potential for having enormous impact on the health and safety of women by taking up the challenge of routinely performing violence assessment. Nurses enjoy a high patient trust, and their training in empathy and clinical rapport make them ideal receivers for the disclosure of partner violence. It is important to recognize that there are many barriers to a woman reporting partner violence�"
(Griffin & Koss, 2002)



Related Links and Interesting Reading

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence
Clinical Screening and Intervention in Cases of Partner Violence
Power & Control Wheels
-This is great site - concise, but takes a few seconds to load
www.sexualityandu.ca/eng/health/DV/
Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence



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Alpert, E.J. & Albright, C.L. Domestic Violence. The New England Journal of Medicine; Hippocrates March 2000, Vol.14 No.3

Day T. 1995 Health-Related Costs of Violence Against Women in Canada: the Tip of the Iceberg. London, Ont. Center for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, Centre for Excellence in Health Care Initiatives, pp. 1-40

Gottula, R. Domestic violence and primary care. University of Colorado Family Practice Review lecture, Estes Park, CO: June 15, 1998

Griffin, M., Koss, M., (January 21, 2002) "Clinical Screening and Intervention in Cases of Partner Violence" Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. #7 No. #1, Manuscript 2.

News release Langley Memorial Hospital 2001 http://www.southfraserhealth.com/Images/Whats_Happening/PDFs/News%20Releases/Domestic%20Violence.pdf

Preventing Domestic Violence: Clinical Guidelines on Routine Screening http://www.fvpf.org

Sherin, K., Sinacor, K., Li, X. Zitter, R., & Shakil, A. HITS: A short domestic violence screening tool for use in a family practice setting. Family Medicine 1998;30(7):508-12

Woman Abuse Response Program: Training and Resource Guide: 2001