Enhancing nurses' effectiveness with abused women. Awareness, reframing, support, education

Abuse against women, with its potential to affect every aspect of a woman's health and well-being, as well as the health and future of her children, is a reality that should be intolerable. Nurses are uniquely suited to address the needs of abused women because of their focus on holistic care and their advocacy role. Additionally, some abused women may find it easier to trust nurses simply because most nurses are women. To feel comfortable when working with abused women, nurses require various kinds of support. They need the support of the institutions in which they work so that they can undertake their work from a firm base. They need support from their professional associations so that they can be assured that all nurses are operating under the same obligation to the client. Lastly, they need the kind of support that comes from being prepared by their education, not only to understand, but also to provide holistic nursing care to abused women. It is unreasonable to expect front-line workers to undertake a task that is so clearly value-laden without the onset support of their educational institution, their facility's administration, and their professional associations. These are the bodies that should be expected to set the agenda to provide leadership. It is only when nurses have this firm base of support that they will be at ease with their role and feel able to intervene consistently and effectively. There is a growing body of knowledge on why nursing care to abused women is only sporadically delivered and frequently ineffective at present. Some reasons for this can be identified at the level of the individual nurse. It is, however, time for the educational, institutional, and professional levels to provide leadership. Nurses should and can be the most effective professionals working with abused women.