Objectives: Although many medical organizations currently recommend that medical providers routinely ask all adult female patients about intimate partner violence, few studies show the outcomes of this inquiry on the women who suffer from the violence. This study explores the positive and unintended negative outcomes of asking about intimate partner violence in the health care setting from the female survivor's perspective.
Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with women in shelters and/or domestic violence support groups in North Carolina. Two investigators coded the transcripts separately then compared their coding. Using the final coding scheme, the investigators reviewed the transcripts to identify emerging themes.
Results: When medical providers asked about partner violence, the women described positive outcomes such as: a greater awareness that the violence was a problem, decreased sense of isolation, and increased knowledge of resources for help. Negative outcomes occurred when the inquiry about intimate partner violence was performed in a rushed or non-compassionate manner. These included: feelings of violation, fears of betrayal, reinforcement of isolation and sense of helplessness, increased sense of guilt/stigma and increased distrust of the medical provider.
Importance: Better understanding of the potential positive and negative outcomes from health care provider inquiry about intimate partner violence will help providers ask about violence in a more appropriate manner and assist researcher and practitioners in formulating realistic goals and measurements for evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention for intimate partner violence.
Learning Objectives: 1) Identify potential positive and negative outcomes of addressing intimate partner violence in health care settings. 2) Articulate the value of obtaining the perspectives of female survivors in defining outcomes of screening for intimate partner violence in health care settings.
Keywords: Screening, Outcomes Research
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.