Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Health Concerns for Adult Women
Injuries Resulting from Intimate Partner Violence Experienced by Women with Disabilities
Linda Carman Copel, PhD, APRN, BC, DAPA, College of Nursing, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA
Learning Objective #1: identify the types of injuries endured by women with disabilities who are in abusive relationships.
Learning Objective #2: determine client behaviors that impede access to care in the post-injury period.
There is limited research examining the injuries of women with disabilities who have experienced intimate partner violence. Health problems in women with disabilities which are a consequence of partner abuse are frequently unrecognized by health practitioners. Instead, many client injuries are associated with the disability, rather than with the violence. The purposes of this qualitative study were to identify the injuries that result when women with disabilities experience abuse in their intimate relationships; and to determine the behaviors that impede access to care in the post-injury period. The population was women with physical disabilities who were 21 years of age and had experienced intimate partner violence within the past two years.  A convenience sample of 18 women was recruited from women’s support groups held in a community mental health clinic. This study employed a phenomenological methodology. The interview questions were, (1) “Will you please describe the injuries that you experienced while living with an abusive partner?” and, (2) “Will you please describe your experience of seeking health care for your injuries?”  All transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. The findings revealed seven categories of injury that the participants endured from the abuse. The four themes, calculating the risk of revenge, finding the words, living in hopelessness, and minimizing the pain characterized the women’s behaviors in the post-injury period. Overall, the themes revealed a significant period of time between experiencing the abuse and obtaining care. Even when care was received, the women’s abusive situations were not self-reported nor identified by the clinician. The implications of this study reiterate the need for practitioner education in order to successfully assess for injuries related to intimate partner violence experienced by women with disabilities. Additional research on recognizing abuse in women with disabilities and documenting the effectiveness of treatment protocols must be undertaken.

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)