Beyond assessment: examining providers' responses to disclosures of violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA) are significant public health issues. In spite of gains made in research and support for screening, little is known about how healthcare providers respond to disclosures of violence. The purpose of this analysis was to examine providers' documented responses to women's disclosure of IPV or SA.

This qualitative analysis of healthcare providers' responses to the disclosure of violence was part of a larger retrospective review of 2000 medical records from four family planning clinics in the northeastern United States.

Findings from this analysis reveal that although screening for IPV and past experiences of violence is consistent, providers' responses to disclosures of violence are often inconsistent. The majority of documented responses to the disclosure of violence (81.5%) were only descriptive in nature and 13% of the medical records contained no documentation of the violence.

As universal violence assessment has increased, providers need to be aware of not only how to screen for violence, but how to respond in a way that is helpful, sincere, nonjudgmental, and legally adequate. This will require providers to move beyond a description of violence toward a response that is action-oriented and includes safety planning and referrals.