Successful Integration and Maintenance of Screening for Domestic Violence in the Health Sector: Moving Beyond Individual Responsibility

• NCJ Number: 216156
• Journal: Trauma, Violence, & Abuse: A Review Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 83-92
• Author(s): Wilfreda E. Thurston; Amanda C. Eisener
• Date Published: April 2006
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews the literature exploring the healthcare sectors responses to domestic violence and potential explanations for failure to integrate screening protocols.

Abstract

After more than two decades of work and numerous policies from both health system management and operational arms, there have been few domestic violence screening protocols integrated into the practice of healthcare. With the impact of domestic violence on the health of women rarely disputed, the lack of screening protocols and their integration as part of routine healthcare in all settings is baffling. Even with the tremendous growth in the amount of research on domestic violence, the research has not adequately described why screening protocols are not implemented in clinical settings, and if so, why they are not sustained. The research that has attempted to explain these deficits has not focused on structural and systemic factors. Gender, organizational culture, organizational structure, and other variables that likely interact in complex ways to influence change in the health sector need to be explored. In the health sector, screening for domestic violence has primarily been viewed as secondary prevention, that is, early identification of domestic violence that enables intervention and prevention of further incidents and negative outcomes, sometimes following disclosures outside of the screening encounter. Despite these promising roles in prevention, screening protocols have not been widely implemented nor become integrated as part of routine healthcare. This paper reviews the existing literature to explore healthcare responses to domestic violence and possible reasons for failure to integrate screening protocols. It argues that contextual and structural factors, particularly those related to gender and culture, play important roles that should be considered in planning and evaluation. References