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Domestic Violence and Out‐of‐hospital ProvidersA Potential Resource to Protect Battered Women
Author(s) -
Husni M. Elaine,
Linden Judith A.,
Tibbles Carrie
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2000.tb01068.x
Subject(s) - medicine , population , domestic violence , emergency department , medical record , poison control , injury prevention , emergency medicine , demography , pediatrics , medical emergency , psychiatry , environmental health , sociology
Abstract Objective: The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) in a subset of women presenting to the Boston emergency medical services (EMS) system and to evaluate documentation. A secondary objective was to determine the rate of refusal of transport to the hospital for DV‐positive patients, compared with the general population. Methods: A retrospective chart review of ambulance run sheets from a nonconsecutive, convenience sample between July and December 1995 was performed. Women presenting with injury, obstetric/gynecologic complaints, or psychiatric complaints were included. Records were reviewed, and labeled as positive, probable, suggestive, or negative for DV, based on a previously used classification system. A weighted kappa test was performed, and data were analyzed using chi‐square and t‐test. Results: Among 1,251 charts reviewed, 876 met criteria for inclusion. The percentage of positive cases was 5.4% (95% CI = 3.9% to 6.9%), probable 10.8% (8.8% to 12.9%), suggestive 2.6% (1.6% to 3.7%), and negative 81.2% (78.6% to 83.6%). Among DV‐positive patients, the refusal to transport rate was 23.4% (11.3% to 35.5%), compared with a 7.1% (5.8% to 9.3%) rate for the entire study population ( n = 876), and 4.7% for the general Boston EMS population during the same year. More DV patients presented during the night shift compared with other shifts. Conclusions: Domestic violence is common in this high‐risk population. A substantial proportion of women in this population refuse transport to the hospital. Out‐of‐hospital personnel should be trained with the tools to identify and document DV, assess patient safety, offer timely resources, and empower victims to make choices.