PRO%20TRAIN

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• PRO TRAIN
• Improving Multi-Professional and Health Care
  Training in Europe
• Building on Good Practice in Violence Prevention

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• Module 1
• for health professionals
• Health consequences of violence and the current
  situtation of medical care

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe
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Health consequences of violence

• Physical consequences
• (Psycho-) somatic consequences
• Psychological consequences
• Negative health behaviours
• Consequences for reproductive health
• Fatal injury, killing, homicide, suicide
• (Hellbernd 2006)

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe
4
Prevalence of intimate partner violence in health
care settings

• Lifetime prevalence
• According to international studies, between 37
  and 54 of female patients treated at first aid
  centres have suffered physical and/or sexual and
  psychological violence by a present or former
  partner during the course of their life.
• (Abott/Johnson et al. 1995
  Dearwater/Copen et al. 1998)
• One year prevalence
• In a survey conducted in eleven American first
  aid facilities, 14,4 of the women mentioned
  mistreatment during the past 12 months.
• (Dearwater/Coben et al. 1998)

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Prevalence studies from selected European
countries

• Prevalence in emergency rooms
• Prevalence in gynaecology/obstetrics
• Pregnancy
• Prevalence in psychiatric facilities
• (Hellbernd 2006)

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe
6
Barriers to effective care

• Barriers to medical care
• Lack of knowledge and appropriate skills for
  counselling female patients affected by violence
• Insufficient knowledge about causes, consequences
  and dynamics of domestic violence and demands of
  women
• Lack of time for medical care as well as
  inadequate funding of counselling
• Missing intra-institutional support such as
  standardised protocols

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe
7
Barriers to effective care

• Barriers faced by female patients
• Shame, guilt and the feeling to be sloely or
  partly responsible for the violence suffered
• Fear of negative respond and fear of being
  blamend for not seperating from the abusive
  partner
• Fear of an escalation of violence and of further
  threats
• Social isolation
• Damaged womens self-confidence and self-esteem
  through long-term experiences of mistreatment
• (Hellbernd 2006)

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe
8
Key role of health professionals

• Health services have a pivotal role to play in
  identification, assessment and response to
  domestic violence
• Health services may often be the only contact
  point with professionals who could recognise and
  intervene in the situation
• The health service may literally be a lifeline
  for women whose contact with the outside world is
  restricted by a violent partner

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe
9
Key role of health professionals

• Health professionals are often a first point of
  contact for women and they deal with the
  after-effects of domestic abuse on a daily basis
• Women who have experienced abuse use health
  services frequently and require wide-ranging
  medical services
• They are likely to admitted to hospital more
  often than non-abused women
• Health records can play an important part in
  bringing perpetrators to justice
• (Hellbernd 2006)

PRO TRAIN Improving Multi-Professional and Health
Care Training in Europe