Factors That Influence Clinicians' Assessment and Management of Family Violence

• NCJ Number: 157879
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 84 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1995) Pages: 628-633
• Author(s): V P Tilden; T A Schmidt; B J Limandri; G T Chiodo; M J Garland; P A Loveless
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

This study explored the impact of gender and training that were likely to influence the assessment and management by dentists, dental hygienists, doctors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers of domestic abuse victims.

Abstract

A total of 1,521 clinicians completed a mailed survey. Data were similar within, and differed between, three groups of subjects: dentists/dental hygienists, doctors/nurses, and psychologists/social workers. Overall, one-third of the respondents reported having received no professional training on child, spouse, or elder abuse. Subjects who had been trained were more apt to suspect abuse in their patients than those who had not. Subjects tended to suspect domestic abuse more often than child abuse, and infrequently identified cases of elder abuse. Significant numbers of respondents reported not feeling responsible for dealing with domestic violence issues, and most indicated low confidence in, and low compliance with, mandatory reporting laws. 6 tables and 40 notes