Intimate Partner Violence Screening and Treatment: The Importance of Nursing Caring Behaviors

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major health concern worldwide. It is the primary cause of traumatic injury to women and one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women. Emergency department (ED) nurses are in a unique position to identify, IPV victims, however, many hospital EDs do not perform routine screenings. This article reviews the literature associated with barriers to screening for IPV and victim's experiences when seeking care in an ED following IPV.

From Systematic Review to Call for Action

“…Professional women’s health provider organizations encourage routine universal IPV screening (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2012; J. C. Campbell & Furniss, 2002; Johnston, 2006). Although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has noted insufficient evidence to recommend universal IPV screening (Berg, 2004), this may be due in part to the lack of existing effective screening tools and interventions.…”

When intimate partner violence against women and HIV collide:Challenges for healthcare assessment and intervention

“…Women who experience IPV are significant users of healthcare services; underscoring the importance of enhancing simultaneous comprehensive and sensitive assessment of women as the treatment issues of safety and physical health are often intertwined. It is the healthcare provider's responsibility to identify, educate, support, and refer women who are victims of IPV and sexual assault (Johnston, 2006;Kothari & Rhodes, 2006). Consequently, screening and effective intervention for IPV are essential components of HIV-related services including prevention programming, voluntary counseling and testing, treatment, and care.…”

“…Unfortunately many healthcare providers miss important opportunities for addressing IPV when women present for HIV-related services. Physical health-related manifestations and sequelae of IPV and sexual assault such as headaches and gastrointestinal problems are often overlooked by providers (Johnston, 2006;Kothari & Rhodes, 2006). In direct response to these often-missed opportunities, it is critically significant to increase or enhance healthcare provider awareness, for example, of those women seeking care for HIV-related services, with a potential intersection with IPV.…”

Intimate partner violence: Advanced practice nurses clinical stories of success and challenge

“…Griffin and Koss (2002) urge educators seeking to increase IPV screening to address nurses because of the holistic care they provide and their awareness of IPV. Johnston (2006) addressed the caring behaviors or actions in which nurses engage that make nurses ideally suited to identify and intervene with patients experiencing violence including: maintaining belief in a patient's capacity to survive, knowing an event has meaning, being emotionally present for the patient, and assisting with self-care. Caring behaviors like these are essential for establishing therapeutic relationships with these women who may be experiencing a myriad of feelings including fear, distrust, and confusion.…”

“…Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a major health and social problem worldwide (Johnston, 2006;Velzeboer, Ellsberg, Arcas, & Garcia-Moreno, 2003;Weingourt, Maruyama, Sawada, & Yoshino, 2001). While men can be victimized, women are abused far more frequently and they are the focus of this article.…”