Domestic Violence

Course overview

This course is based upon material published by the National Institute of Health website and is available as an open-access article. Family and domestic violence is a common problem in the United States, affecting an estimated 10 million people every year; as many as one in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence. Virtually all healthcare professionals will at some point evaluate or treat a patient who is a victim of domestic or family violence. Domestic and family violence includes economic, physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse of children, adults, or elders. Domestic violence causes worsened psychological and physical health, decreased quality of life, decreased productivity, and in some cases, mortality. Domestic and family violence can be difficult to identify. Many cases are not reported to health professionals or legal authorities. This activity describes the evaluation, reporting, and management strategies for victims of domestic abuse and stresses the role of team-based interprofessional care for these victims. This course on domestic violence is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of domestic violence. The course material includes a literature review of the evaluation, reporting and management strategies. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Huecker, King, Jordan, and Smock Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding domestic violence. Specifically, a professional will: Identify the epidemiology of domestic violence. Describe the types of domestic violence. Summarize challenges associated with reporting domestic violence. Review strategies for improving care coordination. Citation: M.R. Huecker, K.C. King, G.A. Jordan, W. Smock, (2022). Domestic violence. NCBI bookshelf, A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.