Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Recognizing the co-occurrence of domestic and child abuse: a comparison of community- and hospital-based midwives
Other Titles:	Health and Social Care in the Community
Authors:	Thompson-Cree, Margaret E M Lazenbatt, Anne
Keywords:	Pregnancy;Child protection;Training
Year:	2009
Publisher:	Blackwell Publishing
Citation:	17 (4), July 2009
Notes:	This study aimed to compare and contrast how midwives working in either hospital or community settings are currently responding to the co-occurrence of domestic and child abuse (CA), their perceived role and willingness to identify abuse, record keeping, reporting of suspected or definite cases of CA and training received. A survey questionnaire was sent to 861 hospital and community midwives throughout Northern Ireland which resulted in 488 midwives completing the questionnaire, leading to a 57% response rate. Comparisons were made using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation, and the questionnaire was validated using exploratory factor analysis. Community midwives reported receiving more training on domestic and CA. Although a high percent of both hospital and community midwives acknowledged a link between domestic violence (DV) and CA, it was the community midwives who encountered more suspected and definite (P < 0.001) cases of CA. More community midwives reported to be aware of the mechanisms for reporting CA. However, an important finding is that although 12% of community midwives encountered a definite case of CA, only 2% reported the abuse, leaving a 10% gap between reporting and identifying definite cases of CA. Findings suggest that lack of education and training was a problem as only a quarter of hospital-based midwives reported to have received training on DV and 40% on CA. This was significantly less than that received by community midwives, as 57% received training on DV, and 62% on CA. The study suggests that midwives need training on how to interact with abused mothers using non-coercive, supportive and empowering mechanisms. Many women may not spontaneously disclose the issues of child or domestic abuse in their lives, but often respond honestly to a sensitively asked question. This issue is important as only 13% of the sample actually asked a woman a direct question about DV. [Copyright ? 1999-2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved. For further information, visit Health & Social Care in the Community.]
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/16526
ISSN:	9660410
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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