Citation

Bahlas SM, Damiati LA. Middle East J. Fam. Med. 2014; 12(1): 14-19.

Affiliation

(1) Department of internal medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; (2) King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, medi+WORLD International)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has recently gained recognition as a global health priority. Yet, little action has been taken to improve identification of IPV in primary- care settings in Saudi Arabia (SA), indicating a need to train front-line physicians to recognize and treat abused victims.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of IPV among a sample of Saudi family medicine (SFM) residents and use this data to develop and integrate an IPV curriculum into the SFM residency curriculum.

Methods: The Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) was modified for cultural sensitivity and uploaded to a web-based survey management provider.

Results: Thirty residents participated in the survey yielding
a response rate of 52%. None reported postgraduate training
in IPV. Respondents scored low in perceived perpetration (2.59/7) and perceived knowledge to man- age IPV (average score of 2.26/7). The mean actual knowledge score for residents was 18.1/38 (SD = 6.7).

Conclusion: Residents did not perceive themselves as either knowledgeable or well-prepared to discuss IPV with patients. These results signify a lack of education and exposure to IPV education in SA and indicate the need to train physicians on how to appropriately respond to abused victims.

Key words: Intimate partner violence, women, domestic violence, family medicine, residency training, needs assessment