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December 6, 2007Finding the Right Words: Provider-Patient Discussions Can Help Domestic Violence Victims Speak Up |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Researchers at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and other sites have found that doctors and other health care providers can better their chances of identifying and helping victims of domestic violence by changing the way they ask patients questions. In a large study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found a number of communication pitfalls when emergency care providers discussed domestic violence with patients. Some examples: Providers often stumbled over their words, failed to acknowledge a disclosure of abuse or abruptly changed the subject. Previous studies showed that patients can be hesitant to disclose their abuse experiences to doctors, but information was scarce about why communication breaks down. Re-framed queries such as "Has anyone ever treated you badly or made you do things you don't want to do" or "Is there anyone you are afraid of" tended to elicit disclosures, as did asking empathetic follow-up questions when patients mentioned other psychosocial problems. Funding was provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institute of Mental Health.
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