Physicians' Experiences with Male Patients Who Perpetrate Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV), there is a paucity of research exploring the role that physicians might play in intervening with IPV perpetrators.Methods: A qualitative study explored interactions between family medicine physicians and male perpetrators of IPV. Fifteen physicians were purposefully sampled from 1 hospital system. The physicians were individually interviewed using a semistructured interview guide, and interview transcripts were analyzed using techniques from grounded theory.Results: Three main themes relating to physicians' experiences were identified: (1) how physicians learned of or identified IPV perpetration by men (usually disclosure by the victim, but perpetrators also disclosed it); (2) how physicians assessed for comorbidities or responded to IPV perpetration by men; and (

The Role of the Physician When a Patient Discloses Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: A Literature Review

“…55 In addition, they are untested in the primary care settings, and prior studies have shown that physicians have difficulty determining whether or when couples should separate. 29,56 Hence, for these reasons as well, there is need for physicians to collaborate with an IPV expert to help craft such strategies.…”

“…28 Although men often do not disclose their abusive behaviors during medical encounters, physicians may become aware that their male patients are IPV perpetrators in other ways, including disclosures by victims, documentation in medical records, and behavior directly disclosed or witnessed. 29,30 Screening protocols for perpetration of IPV have been developed 24 -26,31 but, to our knowledge, screening for IPV perpetration is not commonly practiced and has not been recommended by any of the major medical societies.…”

“…32 Despite this statement, there has been very little research into this topic, leaving physicians unprepared to interact with male perpetrators of IPV. 29 Pilot guidelines were developed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (now known as Futures Without Violence), and other experts have offered their guidance on this topic 30,31,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39] , but these are often based on expert opinion with limited evidence to 13,14 Associated with the following:…”

‘No one teaches us how to deal with this’: General practitioners’ experiences of working with men who use violence in relationships

“…In the USA, a single study by Penti et al found that GPs responded in a variety of ways, including referral to psychiatrists or marriage counsellors, assessment for substance abuse issues, motivational interviewing and attempts at couples counselling. 18 To our knowledge, this is the only such study to date, and it is unknown how relevant the findings might be to the Australian context, which differs to the US healthcare setting (for instance, couples counselling is not recommended as a response to IPV [Box 1]). 16 Further research that provides insight into GPs' experiences of working with men who perpetrate IPV is needed to inform training and support for GPs to ensure that their responses are effective.…”

Improving Family Medicine with Thoughtful Research

“…Penti et al 18 provide an interesting qualitative study, presenting the voices of physicians who care for such men. Sometimes physicians care for both partners and learn of the intimate partner violence from the abused women; other times the men bring it up to the doctor.…”