Open AccessFinnish Health Care Professionals’ Views of Patients Who Experience Family Violence
Author(s) -
Inka Koistinen,
Juha Holma
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
sage open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.357
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2158-2440
DOI - 10.1177/2158244015570392
Subject(s) - supporter , domestic violence , psychology , health care , focus group , nursing , unit (ring theory) , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , poison control , medical emergency , sociology , mathematics education , archaeology , pathology , anthropology , economics , history , economic growth
The aim of this study was to examine the beliefs health carepersonnel have about patients who experience family violence. This was done by analyzingthe positions constructed for such patients using content analysis. The data comprisesix focus groups conducted with physicians, nurses, social workers, and psychologistsworking in a maternity unit, a psychiatric ward, and an emergency department. Theresearch team collected the data in 2006 in Finland. Three main positions wereconstructed for these patients: as a “victim,” with the classic characteristics of such;as a person damaged or disturbed in such a way that his or her victimization has becomehidden behind secondary symptoms; and, as responsible for ending the violence and thusas an active contributor to and supporter of the violence. The results support thenotion that health care personnel often have stereotypical beliefs about peopleexperiencing family violence. It would be important to educate personnel about thedynamics of family violence