Theresa M. Fay-Hillier
Drexel University, USA
Title: Emergency Department Nurses Experiences with Screening for IPV: Implications for Nursing Education
Biography
Biography: Theresa M. Fay-Hillier
Abstract
Although health care providers are encouraged to screen for intimate partner violence (IPV), most studies have indicated that routine screening does not consistently occur. In the United States, 20 people per minute are victims of IPV. Women who are victims of violence have a 50% higher rate of using the ED services and up to a 21% higher rate of primary and specialty care visits than patients without a history of IPV. A study that explored the connection between women who were murdered by an intimate partner and previous contact with the health care system, identified that out of the 34 homicide victims, 44% of those women had encounters with health care providers in the ED. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences, views, and perceptions of RNs working in the ED with regard to screening for IPV. Most of the nurses indicated a lack of clinical preparedness through their formal educational experiences, or through hospital in-services, in address screening for IPV. This presentation will focus on how the experiences shared by the RNs in screening for IPV were incorporated into the development of assessing and addressing victims in a nursing education curriculum as well as the implications for nurses’ to be involved in the development of policies implemented in the ED which focus on addressing victims.