ICGP Survey on Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in General Practice

Noirin O' Herlihy, Ciara Mc Carthy, Ivana Keenan, Gillian Doran, Helen Mcveigh

Keywords: Domestic Violence and Abuse, General Practice

Introduction:

DVA is recognised as an important topic for GPs.
People who experience DVA often have regular contact with their GP and identify doctors and nurses as professionals from whom they would like to receive support . GPs play a critical role in identifying DVA.

Whilst both men and women may experience incidents of DVA, women are considerably more likely to experience repeated and severe forms of abuse, including sexual violence. Young Women and women from marginalised groups are more at risk.

Levels of DVA are increasing but it remains under recognised.

The aim of the study is to provide an overview of how GPs approach DVA and what support GPs require to allow improvement.

Method:

The study comprised an online survey distributed to members of the Irish College General Practitioners(ICGP)

Results:

The survey was completed by 251 ICGP members(6.7%response rate)

The majority of the respondents were female (70.1%), age range 40-59 (61.2%)working 7+ sessions/week (56.8%) located in group practice (88.7%).

65% of GPs suspected DVA in their patients less that once in the previous months. GPs suspected DVA in 4.3 patients on average in the last 6 months and confirmed DVA in 2.9 patients on average in the last 6 months. GPs expressed concern that DVA was under recognised.

The majority of GPs admit to lacking confidence to ask patients about DVA. GPs require supports to improve their confidence to ask about DVA as follows 1) Urgent access to support workers2) Longer consultation time for DVA victims 3) In person training. Clear referral pathways are critical.

75% GPs surveyed had no education or training in DVA in the past year. GPs identified time constraints and difficulty accessing educational resources as the main barriers.

Conclusions:

GPs are aware of the under detection of DVA and requested further education and support to enable better management.

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