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Affiliation
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Department of Family Medicine , University of Iceland, Development Center for Primary Health Care , Reykjavik , Iceland. |
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Abstract
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Researches about domestic violence are neither many nor reflect the seriousness of the ailment. Being one of the leading cause of deaths by killing, this problem warrants more attention. How common is it? How are general practitioners prepared to both diagnose and deal with it? Do medical students get a adequate education about this?
By definition domestic violence is a psychological, sexual and physical abuse of one partner in relationship by the other, most commonly the male are the batterers. Sometimes referred to as intimate-partner violence (IPV) the reported prevalence is unbelievably high. In USA as much 36% of women are raped, assaulted, or stalked by intimate partners at some point during their lives [Liebschutz JM, Rothman EF. Intimate-partner violence — what physicians can do. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:2071–2073.]. In UK more than one in four women experience IPV at some time in their lives and 38% of all murdered women are murdered by their partners. In Iceland 20% of women report that they have at some time in their live been the victim of IPV. Even pregnant women are the victims of IPV, with reported prevalence as high as 16% among women attending antenatal care in the primary health care setting in Iceland [ Tomasdottir MO, Kristjansdottir H, Bjornsdottir A, et al. History of violence and subjective health of mother and child. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2016;34:394–400.]. Some studies even claim that IPV increases during pregnancy [Helton AS, McFarlane J, Anderson ET. Battered and pregnant: a prevalence study. Am J Public Health. 1987;77:1337–1339]. It is therefore extremely important that those who provide antenatal care are well awake for any signs that might indicate IPV and they may even have to screen for it. Failure to attend antenatal care should arouse suspicion and warrants further enquiry.
Women who suffer IPV, and their children, are at increased risk of several health consequences ...
Language: en |