RESPONSE OF EMERGENCY ROOMS TO VICTIMS OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE

Objective: This study explored whether emergency rooms in a metropolit an county had standard procedures or offered services that address the needs of victims of interpersonal violence. Methods: Fifty hospital e mergency rooms (75 percent of the facilities eligible to participate i n the survey) responded to a 55-item questionnaire about their handlin g of victims of interpersonal violence. Results: Emergency rooms gener ally relied on patient self-reports to determine whether a patient is a victim of violence. Standard operating procedures for reporting case s to state agencies and referrals for additional services were most li kely to exist for areas in which hospitals' response is mandated by la w, such as sexual assault and child abuse. In addition, three-fourths of the hospitals had procedures for dealing with elder abuse, an area in which reporting is strongly encouraged. Most direct services receiv ed by victims were not specifically targeted to them but were services offered to the general emergency room population. The most frequent r eferrals were to rape advocacy groups and battered women's groups. Con clusions: The hospitals were most likely to respond to victims in area s in which their actions were mandated by law, such as sexual assault and child abuse, or strongly recommended, such as elder abuse. The maj ority of emergency rooms do not conduct adequate epidemiological surve illance of injuries resulting from interpersonal violence. Protocols, services, and referrals for victims of family violence, peer violence, and other forms of interpersonal violence should be mandated by law o r by standards of treatment.