In recent years there has been increased intimate partner violence (IPV) toward women. Research on the care provided to victims of IPV is limited. The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of women's lived experience of IPV and their encounters with healthcare professionals, social workers, and the police following IPV. A phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur was used. The method is based on text interpretation and gives voice to women's lived experience. Twelve women living at a women's shelter in Sweden narrated their IPV experiences. The study revealed that the women experienced retraumatization, uncaring behaviors, and unendurable suffering during their encounter with healthcare professionals. They were disappointed, dismayed, and saddened by the lack of support, care, and empathy. Nurses and other healthcare professionals must understand and detect signs of IPV as well as provide adequate care, as these women are vulnerable. IPV victims need to feel that they can trust healthcare professionals. Lack of trust can lead to less women reporting IPV and seeking help.
Background: Sweden is known for its strong views on equality between men and women. Nevertheless, if one scratches the surface, one will realize that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a problem meriting much closer attention. Emergency nurses have an important role in identifying women who have IPV experiences. Objective: To identify and investigate the occurrence of reported experienced IPV during their lifetime among women seeking emergency care. Design: An explorative and comparative design was used based on answers on the Abuse Assessment Screen questionnaire and some demographic data. The data was described and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21. Results: Of the 300 invited women visiting an emergency department in a small town, 234 completed the questionnaire. Of these 234, 82 (35%) reported having experienced emotional; physical or sexual violence and 31 (13%) reported to being afraid of their partner. Of the women 181 had one child or more and 58 (32%) of these reported having been abused. Of all women, with four or more children, 75% (15) reported to have been abused, while only 25% (5) reported no abuse. Of the 82 women who reported having been abused 12 (15%) reported being abused in the course of the year prior to pregnancy and 9 (11%) during pregnancy, often several times. The main abuser was the woman's husband, boyfriend, cohabitating partner, ex-partner, or someone else who was seen as a relative, e.g., a parent. Conclusion: Using the questionnaire AAS may contribute to identifying victims of intimate partner violence and increasing health care practitioners' attentiveness concerning the type of injury, frequency of care seeking and actions that may indicate such violence lead to changes of the woman's situation.
Background: Identifying women at risk for violence caused by intimate partner violence is difficult in connection with visits at emergency department. Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to explore and describe risk factors of IPV reported by women in connection with seeking emergency care, Design: This study is part of a larger study using an explorative and comparative design. Method: Based upon data from a questionnaire and some demographic data, 82 women who reported to have experienced intimate partner violence answered the Danger Assessment Scale. Results: The results showed that the violence escalated in frequency and severity when a weapon such as a knife or gun was used to harm the women. When the abuser used narcotics and threatened the woman with a weapon, the risk of being injured increased. The odds for being threatened to death when the abuser was reported to use narcotics and illegal drugs was about thirteen times higher compared to the case when the abuser was not using narcotics. Other life threatening factors were discovered such as the man's capability of killing the woman. Conclusion: By using a questionnaire about the violence, healthcare personnel can identify women who are at risk of being severely injured or killed. By identifying these women, one can take action to provide for their safety. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Using the Danger Assessment instrument can facilitate health care personnel's ability at emergency departments to identify women at risk for lethal violence.
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