Prevalence of victims of violence admitted to an emergency department

Abstract

Objective: To collect data on the consultation frequency and demographic profile of victims of violence attending an emergency department (ED) in Switzerland. Methods: We undertook screening of all admitted adult patients (.16 years) in the ED of the CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland, over a 1 month period, using a modified version of the Partner Violence Screen questionnaire. Exclusionary criteria were: life threatening injury (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics score >4), or inability to understand or speak French, to give oral informed consent, or to be questioned without a family member or accompanying person being present. Data were collected on history of physical and/or psychological violence during the previous 12 months, the type of violence experienced by the patient, and if violence was the reason for the current consultation. Sociodemographic data were obtained from the registration documents.Results: The final sample consisted of 1602 patients (participation rate of 77.2%), with a refusal rate of 1.1%. Violence during the past 12 months was reported by 11.4% of patients. Of the total sample, 25% stated that violence was the reason for the current consultation; of these, 95% of patients were confirmed as victims of violence by the ED physicians. Patients reporting violence were more likely to be young and separated from their partner. Men were more likely to be victims of public violence and women more commonly victims of domestic violence. Conclusions: Based on this monthly prevalence rate, we estimate that over 3000 adults affected by violence consult our ED per annum. This underlines the importance of the problem and the need to address it. Health services organisations should establish measures to improve quality of care for victims. Guidelines and educational programmes for nurses and physicians should be developed in order to enhance providers' skills and basic knowledge of all types of violence, how to recognise and interact appropriately with victims, and where to refer these patients for follow up care in their local networks.

Intimate Partner Violence: Development of a Brief Risk Assessment for the Emergency Department

“…2 Of all women treated in emergency departments (EDs), it is estimated that 2.2% to 12% present with injuries related to acute IPV. [3][4][5][6][7] IPV is associated with increased risk of a number of physical and mental illnesses, so emergency physicians (EPs) and staff are likely to see victims of IPV in their daily practice. 1,8 Femicide (murder of females) is the most severe outcome of IPV.…”

Gewalt an Frauen

“…Auch Untersuchungen außerhalb Deutschlands zum Thema körperliche und sexuelle Gewalt zeigten, dass lediglich 1-13% der betroffenen Patientinnen jemals auf dieses Thema von ihrem Hausarzt angesprochen werden [13,14]. Gründe, welche die Erstversorgenden trotz einer geschätzten Prävalenz von 30% von einem routinemäßigen 7 Screenen auf häusliche Gewalt [15] abhalten, liegen nach Meinung von Waalen et al [16] zum einen im Mangel an Zeit, zweitens im Mangel an Beweisen, dass Interventionen von Erfolg gekrönt sind, und drittens im Mangel an Aufklärung über die Prävalenz und die Bedeutung häuslicher Gewalt.…”

Emergency nurses' experiences of caring for survivors of intimate partner violence

“…It is estimated that in the USA 28% of women who suffer injuries as a consequence of IPV will receive medical care and in more than 50% of the cases this care will be given at the emergency unit of a hospital (National Center for Injury Prevention andControl 2003, Lipsky &Caetano 2007). A Canadian study (MacMillan et al 2006) reported 11.3% to 17.7% twelve-month prevalence rates among patients screened for IPV in two emergency units, while a similar study in Switzerland (Hofner et al 2005) reported a 11.4% prevalence rate.…”