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Public Health Nurses' Responses to Domestic Violence: A Report from the Enhanced Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
Author(s) -
Shepard Melanie F.,
Elliott Barbara A.,
Falk Dennis R.,
Regal Ronald R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1446.1999.00359.x
Subject(s) - domestic violence , public health , protocol (science) , medicine , referral , nursing , poison control , intervention (counseling) , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , environmental health , family medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Public health nurses (PHNs) can play an important role in the detection of domestic violence. This study examines whether the introduction of a domestic violence assessment protocol by public health nurses in a maternal and child health visiting program increases the identification and referral rates of women experiencing domestic violence. Data collected from case files during the baseline year prior to the initiation of the protocol were compared to case file information after the protocol had been implemented. When the protocol was used, there was a higher rate of identification, although the difference was not statistically significant. Significantly more women, however, were provided with information about domestic violence resources after the protocol was in place, and significantly more women were referred to services in the second year after the protocol had been implemented. This study provides support for the use of a domestic violence protocol to improve the public health nursing response to domestic violence.