RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS OF HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER TRAINING-PROGRAMS ON INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Programs that are effective in training health care providers to recog nize and meet the needs of victims of intimate partner violence must b e identified and replicated. The Centers for Disease Control and Preve ntion (CDC) has developed criteria for use in developing, enhancing, a nd evaluating such programs. CDC developed these criteria as a result of continuing efforts to provide useful products for constituents thro ugh literature reviews and consultations with experts in the field; ev aluations of training programs; creation of an inventory and annotated bibliography of health care provider training programs in the United States and Canada; and development of a framework to assist hospitals and health centers in evaluating their training programs. Training sho uld begin while providers are in professional school and continue in t he health care setting. Curricula should be multidisciplinary and shou ld provide information, promote clinical skills, and effectively link providers with resources. Evaluation should assist programs in determi ning providers' needs and identifying appropriate materials, trainers, and training strategies. CDC is working to establish scientific evide nce that provider training programs are effective and to share success ful models with others. Providers have an important role in stopping a nd ultimately preventing intimate partner violence, but they are not a lone in this effort. They need to know how to access the growing netwo rk of assistance including women's advocates, the criminal justice sys tem, and other members of increasingly dynamic community coalitions. ( C) 1998 American Journal of Preventive Medicine