Nurses can make a difference in the lives of battered women > Back To Resources

By: Lisa Waterman Gray March 15, 2004

According to the March American Journal of Nursing, battered women hid car keys, removed weapons from the home, copied down bank account numbers and asked neighbors to contact the police if they heard an angry dispute - an average of twice every three months - when health care providers called them six times in eight weeks. Follow-up calls determined that the positive effects of these interactions lasted for up to 18 months.

Approximately 37 percent of women who receive treatment in emergency rooms have experienced domestic violence. Yet, it is estimated that less than half of domestic violence to women is being reported. Men may also experience domestic violence, but their numbers are far smaller.

Area hospitals have worked harder to report abuse, and suspected abuse, in recent years.

"We need to up our skills regarding how to deal with battered people," said Lori Cessna, RN, and a clinical resource nurse in the Emergency Care Center at Olathe Medical Center. "We now screen all women who come to the emergency room, from age 14 to 65, by asking, 'Has anyone been hurting you?' We also interview males who we suspect are being abused.

"We make sure we interview them when they are entirely alone. If a woman says 'no,' then you're done. But if you ask each time you see her in the emergency department, she may say 'yes' on another visit.

"It's important to catch these women in the window of opportunity when they're willing to get help, and to provide them with resources. Through a three-year grant, we work with Safehome advocates who can be here within half an hour, if a woman agrees she wants help. Safehome is also a resource for a nurse who suspects abuse and wants to present a scenario so she knows what she can do."

The hospital began to include basic information about domestic violence in its nursing and general orientation packets last year. A special task force meets quarterly, with a Safehome representative, to evaluate how well the staff handles domestic violence issues and what other hospitals are doing. Departmental and lunch training sessions, and physician training, also occur frequently.

Sandy Kapka, RN, BSN, and coordinator of the pre-delivery/obstetrical managed care program at Saint Joseph Health Center, works closely with physicians to educate them about how to deal with battered women. Nurses in the managed care program have been informed about dealing with battered women and they receive a weekly newsletter. There are also handouts available.

"Twenty to 35 percent of the women we see live with a batterer or have the potential to fall into this pattern," she said. "We ask all of our patients to fill out a general questionnaire. One question asks if they have been hit, kicked or punched in the last year. Another asks if anyone has threatened or tried to control them in the last year. Then we verbally ask the questions to reconfirm answers.

"When our patients are closer to delivery we ask them to answer these questions again, on paper, no matter what their previous responses were. Women in this situation rarely volunteer that they are being abused and want to get out of the situation, but they may be in the process of planning what to do.

"If a woman admits she has been abused or fears abuse, it is up to her to decide what the next move should be. We let her know she should have some kind of safety plan in place, and we refer her to our in-house bridge advocate from Rose Brooks Center, Ann Graves. She has been here not quite a year and it has made such a difference."

©Kansas City Nursing News 2004

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