Domestic Violence and Health Care: Policies and Prevention

Explore methods and techniques that health care providers can use to treat battered women?more humanely and effectively!

This vital book examines the role of health care in the struggle to combat domestic violence. It shows how physicians can?and should?respond to victims of domestic violence, shares the success of the Family Violence Prevention Project, discusses what healthcare providers need to know about elder abuse, examines primary care physicians? screening practices for female partner abuse, and looks at the way Emergency Department personnel perceive the results of intimate partner violence (IPV). It also shows how family planning clinics can become ?empowerment zones? of battered women living in a rural setting and assesses the success of the WomanKind Program?an integrated model of 24-hour health care response to domestic violence against women.

Domestic Violence and Health Care: Policies and Prevention also:

• investigates the relationship between perceived barriers and screening practices
• explores attitudes toward mandatory domestic violence reporting
• inquires into what pregnant women who have been abused think about their partners and their relationships
• examines the difference between Mexican and American women?s perception of the severity of various acts of abuse
• discusses the efficacy of an IPV assessment form using icons rather than descriptions to better communicate with migrant/seasonal workers whose command of English is poor

From the editors: ?We have learned that screening for domestic violence by itself is a powerful intervention and can make a significant difference in a woman?s life. It helps validate that there is no excuse for domestic violence and demystifies the belief that providers are a part of the problem and not part of the solution. We have also learned that the consequences of intimate partner violence are manifested in a range of health conditions as well as in increased overall costly health care utilization. Screening tools and proposed mechanisms for treatment and follow-up are available. The next step in this effort requires validation of the screening tools and evaluation of the interventions currently underway. The purpose of this book is to provide some insight into our current understanding of the role health care plays in recognizing and treating victims of domestic violence. We hope to contribute to the understanding of the complexities of the causes and consequences of domestic violence on the life of a woman, and to provide insight into ways to positively alter the health care system and provider behavior.?