Objective: To increase the knowledge of nurses and doctors in an emergency department about the topic of domestic violence; to change any negative practices and attitudes toward victims; to increase knowledge of the referral processes for psychosocial aspects of domestic violence; and to increase knowledge of community resources for domestic violence victims.
Methods: Identical knowledge, attitude, and practice surveys were conducted with nurses and doctors in an emergency department before and after an educational intervention program about domestic violence. A matched-pair analysis of those respondents who answered both pretest and posttest surveys was conducted to measure the impact of the program on nurses and doctors.
Results: Nurses and doctors had a reasonable knowledge of the topic of domestic violence before the education program (correct answers: nurses, 61.6%; doctors, 63.4%). However, the program had a positive impact on their knowledge (correct answers posttest: nurses, 71.5%; doctors, 72.4%), with more significant changes for nurses than for doctors. The program affected both nurses' and doctors' attitudes (of 10 positive attitudinal statements: pretest, 7.9; posttest, 8.6). On both the pretest and posttest, nurses and doctors did not subscribe to a number of the myths about domestic violence that have been described in the domestic violence literature. These findings should be treated with caution because of the low response rates to the surveys from doctors (28.0%, n = 20) and nurses (53.0%, n = 48).
Discussion: Further research is needed into the beliefs and practices of nurses and doctors about domestic violence. The impact of this education program highlights the necessity for introducing training programs for health professionals on domestic violence problems.
PIP: Surveys on knowledge, attitude, and practice of domestic violence were conducted to measure the impact of an educational intervention program on nurses and doctors in emergency departments. Surveys were conducted before and after the program. The results showed that doctors and nurses had a reasonable general knowledge on domestic violence before and after education program, the extent of domestic violence in the Australian community, and the knowledge that at least some forms of domestic violence were highly accepted. Both nurses and doctors had a strong belief that domestic violence was a behavioral pattern that could be changed. On both pretest and posttest, nurses and doctors did not subscribe to a number of myths that have been perpetuated about domestic violence. This study showed that education program has greater impact on nurses than on doctors, and that attitudes toward domestic violence were a function of profession rather than a gender. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the necessity of educational programs on domestic violence for health professionals.