Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Identify current domestic violence (DV) screening practices of a sample of practicing physicians in Arizona. 2. Identify barriers and motivating factors for DV screening among this population. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed. 2244 subjects were randomly selected from the Arizona Board of Medical Examiners database. Subjects were stratified from 13 areas of medical specialty and were sent a maximum of 3 mailings of a 23-item questionnaire over a 6-month period. Results: There was a 43.5% response rate to this survey. 55.8% of the respondents revealed that they had some previous education on DV screening, however, 50.5% admitted that they rarely or never screened their female patients for DV. Physicians commonly reported that they are too busy to screen or felt that they do not encounter DV victims in their practice. Fifty two percent reported that their competence for providing treatment for victims was poor to fair. Ten percent of the respondents were interested in joining a DV task force and 36.4% indicated that they would like to receive additional training on DV screening. Differences regarding previous education, screening practices and attitudes were analyzed between areas of medical specialization. Discussion: The findings suggest that significant differences exist in DV screening attitudes, practices and knowledge among various areas of medical specialization. This study gathered data, which may be later utilized to design education programs for physicians on the topic of DV screening.
Learning Objectives: Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Identify current domestic violence (DV) screening practices of a sample of practicing physicians in Arizona. 2. Identify barriers and motivating factors for DV screening among this population.
Keywords: Domestic Violence,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.