Domestic Abuse: The Missing Assessment Chapter

An assessment chapter on domestic abuse is a necessary component of advanced practice assessment content. Domestic, dating and sexual violence are costly and pervasive problems in this country, causing victims, as well as witnesses and bystanders, in every community to suffer incalculable pain and loss. Domestic violence is at epidemic levels. It also can cause health problems that last a lifetime, and diminish children’s prospects in school and in life. The United States has made progress in the last few decades in addressing this violence.  On average more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States. In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.  In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published data collected in 2005 that finds that women experience two million injuries from intimate partner violence each year. Women of all ages are at risk for domestic and sexual violence, and those aged 20 to 24 are at the greatest risk of experiencing nonfatal intimate partner violence. Health care providers are a crucial point of contact for identification, treatment, and secondary prevention for women who are victims of domestic violence (Garimella, et al. 2000). Health care providers must be educated and experienced in assessing victims of domestic violence. The health care provider is knowledgeable will serve as an advocate, an educator, and empower-er, a listener, a resource, and a support system.  Assessment tools, interview techniques and intervention measures are essential to reducing the incidence and consequences of domestic abuse. Some of the many available tools are SAFE, WAST, and WEB.  Students should have a chapter on assessment for abuse, tools for assessing, appropriate interview techniques, and interventions in their Assessment courses.