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Domestic abuse
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Women often hide domestic abuse from doctors
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Women are often reluctant to volunteer to doctors that they are victims of domestic abuse, and doctors shy away from the subject.
``The end result,'' a new study says, ``is silence between patients and health care providers.''
But when the women are screened for the problem using a computer, the study finds, they are much more likely to disclose it.
In the current Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers write that screening may be valuable in emergency department waiting rooms. The study was led by Dr. Karin V. Rhodes, now of the University of Pennsylvania, when she was at the University of Chicago.
The researchers set up computers at two emergency rooms, one in an urban area that served a mainly black population, and one in a suburban area that served mainly wealthier white patients. In all, 781 women who came in were randomly assigned to be screened.
The idea is that patients are often more willing to answer certain questions when they are not dealing with a person.
The screening included eight questions intended to uncover a risk of abuse, like ``Does your partner try to keep you away from your family or friends?''
If a woman said yes to any question, a note on her chart alerted the doctor.
About 26 percent of the women at the urban hospital indicated that they were at risk, as did 21 percent of the suburban patients. The women who were screened at the urban hospital were much more likely to discuss domestic violence with their doctors, more likely to disclose that they had problems and somewhat more likely to get referrals for help.
Among the suburban women, little difference was seen between those who were screened and those who were not.
Domestic violence ``was still grossly underaddressed'' in emergency rooms. It was discussed in just under half the visits when patients had indicated a risk.
(NYT)
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