@article{ref1,
title="Patient attitudes about mandatory reporting of domestic violence. Implications for health care professionals",
journal="Western journal of medicine",
year="1998",
author="Rodriguez, Michael A. and Craig, A. M. and Mooney, D. R. and Bauer, Heidi M.",
volume="169",
number="6",
pages="337-341",
abstract="As of January 1994, California physicians are required to report to police all patients who are suspected to be victims of domestic violence. This article describes the results from a focus group study of abused women (n = 51) that explored their experiences with and perspectives on medical care. The eight focus groups included two Latina (total n = 14), two Asian (total n = 14), two African-American (total n = 9), and two Caucasian (total n = 14) groups of women who had been the victims of domestic abuse within the previous 2 years. The women were recruited through community-based organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. With regard to physician reporting of domestic violence to police, five themes were identified: fear of retaliation by the abuser, fear of family separation, mistrust of the legal system, desire for police protection, and preference for confidentiality and autonomy in the patient-health professional relationship. Our results indicate that mandatory reporting may pose a threat to the safety and well-being of abused women and may create barriers to their seeking help and communicating with health care professionals about domestic violence.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0093-0415",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}