USA – Physicians & Domestic Violence Screening – Study
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: February 12, 2006
Physicians Domestic Violence Screening
Study
February 15, 2006
Physicians are missing an important opportunity to document
violence and help patients. Nearly one-third of primary care providers (28
percent) do not record a patient’s disclosure of domestic violence on their
medical charts. Even though eight in ten clinicians (82 percent) strongly agree
that it is their role to inquire about intimate partner violence, only 68
percent express confidence in their ability to manage it. These are findings
from the recent study, “How and why community hospital clinicians document a
positive screen for intimate partner violence: a cross-sectional study,”
published in BMC Family Practice.
The authors of the study
examined medical records of patients who reported intimate partner violence on
their waiting room screening questionnaires. Clinicians were given the
questionnaires at the time of service. Seventy-two percent of clinicians
included some documentation of domestic violence on their patients’ charts, but
only ten percent of those charts included a referral and safety plan.
Clinicians were also surveyed on their knowledge, attitudes and
practices regarding intimate partner violence. Two-thirds of primary care
providers (67 percent) cited time constraints as a barrier to care. Clinicians
also reported that they base their confidence in treating domestic violence
patients on the hours of recent training and clinical experience with intimate
partner violence.
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