Learning Objective #1: Identify those women most vulnerable to battering

Learning Objective #2: Identify intervention strategies for battered women

---

INTRODUCTION: Domestic violence (DV) sustained by women accounts for three times as many Emergency Department (ED) visits as those required following automobile collisions, muggings and rapes combined. For many women the ED is the primary point of entry into the medical system - one that provides a major opportunity to break what is a cycle of violence. ED staff can therefore play a crucial role in addressing this public health crisis. Using a qualitative methodology, this study investigated battered women's perceptions of the ED experience.

METHODS: Female victims of DV were interviewed about their ED experiences related to abuse. Interview themes were arranged thematically by significance from participants' perspectives.

RESULTS: Themes identified in the interviews included the need for all ED healthcare providers: 1) to empathize; 2) to directly address the issue of DV; 3) to educate women about what happens once the abuse is disclosed; and, 4) to establish a safe, private ED environment.

CONCLUSION: Emergency health care providers must address DV as a complicated psychological, socioeconomic and social problem. ED staff can positively influence these women's lives by directly addressing the DV with empathy, and by educating these patients regarding the effects of the abuse disclosure in an ED environment that is viewed as being safe and private by the victims. Key teaching points include the concepts: 1) the abuse is not deserved, 2) victims have choices, and 3) these women must be discharged from the ED to a safe environment.