FAMILY VIOLENCE CURRICULA IN US MEDICAL-SCHOOLS

Introductioin: Family violence (adult domestic violence, child abuse/n eglect, and elder abuse) is endemic. Victims of family violence are se en in every venue of health care, yet physicians do not routinely inqu ire about abuse, even when patients present with obvious clinical char acteristics. Although a comprehensive health care response is key to a coordinated communitywide approach to family violence, most practicin g physicians have never received education in any aspect of family vio lence, including child abuse. This paper reports the results of a sun ey of family violence instruction in medical schools. Methods: A writt en survey of medical school deans and student representatives of all 1 26 U.S. medical schools was conducted to (1) determine curriculum cont ent in family violence, (2) assess differences between deans' and stud ents' perceptions of curricular offerings, and (3) compare the results of the current survey with those of an earlier curriculum survey cond ucted in 1987. Results: The majority of deans reported existing curric ulum in all three topic areas of family violence. Compared to the 1987 survey, more deans reported existing curriculum in family violence. H owever, neither total instructional time nor curriculum during clinica l training increased. Moreover, student and dean responses were discre pant regarding awareness of curriculum in domestic violence and elder abuse. Conclusion: Despite an increase in the number of schools report ing curriculum in family violence, there does not appear to be increas ed attention to this problem, at least as measured by time devoted to teaching. insights from this descriptive survey can promote ongoing ef forts toward comprehensive curriculum development in family violence.