CLINICAL STUDIES
Attitudes and Practices of Registered Nurses Toward Women Who Have Experienced Abuse/Domestic Violence

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.1998.tb02608.xGet rights and content

Objective:

To compare the education, attitudes, and practices related to domestic violence of perinatal nurses from three types of practice sites.

Design:

A descriptive study of responses to a questionnaire administered to a convenience sample and through a mailing.

Setting:

Education conferences and responses to a mailing.

Participants:

Two hundred seventy-five nurses in perinatal practice (87 public health, 71 hospital, 117 private office).

Main Outcome Measures:

Primary outcomes were attitudes and beliefs about domestic violence and nursing behavior when domestic violence was identified. The effects of education about domestic violence on practice and the effect of a personal/family history of domestic violence on practice were examined.

Results:

Some differences were found in the attitudes and beliefs of nurses from different practice sites, but more differences were found in their behaviors. Only 54% of the total sample reported having education about domestic violence, received in formal or continuing education programs. Public health nurses were the most likely to have such education. Education affected both attitudes and behavior. In the total sample, 31% of nurses reported abuse of themselves or family members.

Conclusions:

Nursing care for women who have experienced domestic violence includes assessment and appropriate counseling. Many nurses in this study lacked education about domestic violence. The provision of education about abuse and domestic violence is a first step toward a change in nursing practice. JOGNN, 27, 175-182; 1998.

Section snippets

Method

A convenience sample of 158 nurses (87 public health nurses [PHNs] and 71 hospital-based nurses) attending a series of perinatal conferences in North Carolina were asked to complete a questionnaire about their educational preparation, screening and referral behaviors, attitudes, and personal experience related to abuse/ domestic violence. The questionnaire took approximately 5 minutes to complete. The questionnaire was also mailed to private offices in a 20-county region, yielding 117

Demographic Data

All of the nurse respondents were women. By race, 94.3% were white, 5.4% black, and 0.3% other. The majority were ages 30 to 50 years (71.4%); 11.1% were 29 years or younger, and 17.5% were 51 years or older. Sixty-six percent graduated from a nursing program between 1970 and 1989; 18.2% graduated before 1969; and 14.8% graduated after 1990.

Participants reported their educational preparation as follows: licensed practical nurses (16.6%), nonbaccalaureate registered nurses (47.9%), baccalaureate

Discussion

Potential barriers to the identification and care of women who are abused include both attitudes and practice behaviors. More than 90% of the nurses in this sample did not indicate attitudinal barriers on 9 of the 17 statements. However, responses by nurses from all practice environments to two attitudinal statements, “I’m not trained” and “I don’t have time to fully evaluate or counsel,” suggest that these issues need to be addressed.

The differences in responses by practice site is

Implications for Nursing Education and Practice

Domestic violence is a serious problem that affects women’s health and pregnancy outcomes. Although the findings from this convenience sample are not generalizable, we believe that nurses can use a similar framework to assess the attitudes, behavior, and training of colleagues in their own practice settings.

In spite of nursing research and the research of other disciplines about the consequences of domestic violence for both perinatal and women’s health, only slightly more than half of all

Implications for Nursing Research

The findings from the current study suggest that education related to domestic violence does make a difference in practice. Further research is needed to identify the best way to provide this education in terms of content and teaching strategy. Research that measures changes in nurses’ attitudes and behaviors on short-term and long-term bases would be of value. In addition, qualitative research that explores the rationales behind attitudes and behaviors will enhance understanding of the problem.

Acknowledgments

The study presented in this article was supported by funding from Gamma Zeta Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau, and the ASPO/Lamaze Fund, Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

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