scholarly journals Assessment of Musculoskeletal Injuries from Domestic Violence in the Emergency Department

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Georgios F. Giannakopoulos ◽  
Udo J. L. Reijnders

Domestic violence is one of the most common causes of nonfatal injury in women, with musculoskeletal injuries representing the second most prevalent manifestation of this form of violence. It is therefore of great importance that healthcare providers such as emergency department (ED) physicians and surgeons are able to recognize and assess these kinds of injuries. In this case report, a woman is described visiting an ED with injuries caused by a fall. Thanks to the knowledge and attention of the ED physician, the real cause of the injury was discovered. What appeared to be an unsuspicious accident was actually the result of intimate partner violence.

CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S66 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vonkeman ◽  
P.R. Atkinson ◽  
J. Fraser ◽  
R. McCloskey

Introduction: Domestic violence (DV) rates in smaller cities been reported to be some of the highest in Canada. It is highly likely that emergency department staff will come across victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their daily practice. The purpose of this study is to better understand current practices for detecting IPV as we are currently uncertain whether patients are assessed for IPV and what the current documentation practices are. Methods: A standardized retrospective chart review, following principles outlined by Gilbert et al. 1996, was completed by two researchers to capture domestic violence documentation rates in patients presenting to the ED between January and April 2015 with injuries that may have been caused by IPV. To assess self-reported documentation/questioning practices, a cross-sectional online survey was distributed to ED staff via staff email lists three times between July and October 2016, with a response rate of 45.9% (n=55). The primary outcome was DV field usage. Secondary outcomes included documentation in patient charts and current questioning habits. Results: Overall, we found documentation in 4.64% of all included patient charts (n=366). No documentation was noted in the DV field. 52.4% patients with deliberate injuries had no documentation of assailant identity. With regards to self reported documentation practices, 16.4% of ED staff never questioned female patients about intimate partner violence, 83.6% asked when thought appropriate, and none asked routinely. None of the staff used a structured screening tool. 60% of ED staff documented their questioning but 92.7% did not use the DV-field for documentation. 58.2% of ED staff could not identify the DV field and 45.5% of respondents did not know how to interpret the DV field if positive. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the current documentation tool (DV-field) is not being utilized. Furthermore, low rates of IPV documentation, and potentially questioning, in high risk patients indicates that there is need to improve current practises.


CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 701-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Arora ◽  
Clarissa Hjalmarsson ◽  
Eddy Lang ◽  
Adrian Boyle ◽  
Paul Atkinson

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199794
Author(s):  
Liat Lustig ◽  
Elina Fishenson ◽  
Merav Ben Natan

Literature suggests that some women refrain from disclosing being subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV) upon their contact with the health care system. Such disclosure becomes critical when the violence compels women to seek urgent medical care. The purpose of the present study was to compare characteristics of women who disclose and women who do not disclose being subjected to domestic violence, when presenting at the Emergency Department (ED). In this chart review study, characteristics of 56 randomly sampled women who disclosed and 50 who did not disclose being subjected to domestic violence, when presenting at the ED in a medical center located in central-northern Israel between 2015 and 2018, were compared. It was found that women who did not disclose were more likely to be pregnant, legally defined as helpless, and dependent on others to some extent. In addition, they were more likely to be hospitalized, which may indicate a more severe injury, and were more likely to have been subjected to psychological abuse or neglect alone. A trauma informed approach should guide specific interventions with a focus on women with these characteristics in the ED, in order to facilitate their disclosure of IPV.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Caicedo Roa ◽  
L Gabrielle Dalaqua ◽  
P Filizola ◽  
R Cordeiro

Abstract Introduction Violence against women is a public health problem with severe consequences. Most women in situations of domestic violence are emotionally involved and/or economically dependent of their intimate partners contributing to the perpetuation and acceptance of violence. Objectives 1) To characterize the women who join the Reference and Support Center for Women (Ceamo) in Campinas, Southeast Brazil. 2) To measure the quality of life in women victims of intimate partner violence 3) To determine the risk of feminicide. Methods The Ceamo is a public specialized service from the mayor of Campinas, it provides psychological, social and legal guidance to women in situations of gender violence. Inclusion criteria: Women attending Ceamo services, speaking Portuguese, age ≥18 years old and having experienced intimate partner violence. Measure instruments: Danger assessment Scale and WHOQOL-BREF. Results During the 11 months of the study, 78 new users were recruited. Average age 38.3 years old, mostly married/stable union, most of them with children (88%). 64% of women do not work and 36% live with the abusive partner. Prevalent types of violence suffered during by the victims in the last year were psychological n = 76, physical n = 62, moral n = 54 and sexual n = 23. The domain most affected in the assessment of quality of life was the environment (average 42% /100%) and psychological domain (42%/100%). 49% of women were classified with increased risk, 22% with severe risk and 1% with extreme risk of femicide. The questions with the most positive answers were those related to believing that the partner can kill her (77%), jealous of the partner (76%) and controlling behavior (73%), being followed/spied by the partner (67%) and threat death (65%). Conclusions The service in general receive very vulnerable women with low perception of their own quality of life, precarious material conditions and high risk of femicide. Key messages The women in domestic violence situation attended by the Ceamo service are at high risk of femicide. Service users have very low perception of their quality of life and poor social conditions.


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