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Pakistani obstetricians' recognition of and attitude towards domestic violence screening
F F Fikree1, S N Jafarey, R Korejo
1The Population Council, International Programs Division, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. ffikree@popcouncil.org
Objective:
Our study assesses Pakistani obstetricians knowledge of the prevalence of domestic violence in clinical practice and attitudes towards instituting screening protocols during routine antenatal care.
Methods:
One hundred obstetricians, all Karachi residents, were randomly drawn from a stratified sampling list taken from membership lists. A structured questionnaire assessing prevalence, attitudes, and beliefs on training and domestic violence screening protocols was administered.
Results:
Nearly 70% of obstetricians reported that more than 30% of Pakistani women are victims of domestic abuse. Sixty-two obstetricians specified that they had identified a physically abused woman within the past year. Almost half of the respondents were favorably inclined to screen patients. Professional, personal and patient-related barriers were identified as the main hurdles preventing instituting screening.
Conclusions:
The desire for instituting routine screening despite the recognition of major hurdles by Pakistani obstetricians should propel reproductive health stakeholders to raise awareness about appropriately modifying standard antenatal care protocols.
