DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCREENING PRACTICES OF OBSTETRICIAN-GYNECOLOGISTS

Objective: To ascertain the current knowledge base and screening pract ices of obstetrician-gynecologists in the area of domestic violence. M ethods: We mailed a survey to 189 ACOG Fellows who are members of the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network. Questionnaires were also ma iled to a random sample of 1250 nonmember Fellows. Results: Obstetrici an-gynecologists are aware of the nature of domestic violence and are familiar with common symptomatology that may be associated with domest ic violence. For pregnant patients, 39% of respondents routinely scree n at the first prenatal visit; 27% of respondents routinely screen non pregnant patients at the initial visit. Screening is most likely to oc cur when the obstetrician-gynecologist suspects a patient is being abu sed, both during pregnancy (68%) and when the patient is not pregnant (72%). Only 30% of obstetrician-gynecologists received training on dom estic violence during medical school; 37% received such instruction du ring residency training. The majority (67%) have received continuing e ducation on the subject. Years since training and personal experiences with intimate-partner violence were associated with increased screeni ng practices. Conclusion: Routine screening of all women for domestic violence has been recommended by ACOG for more than a decade. The majo rity of obstetrician-gynecologists screen both pregnant and nonpregnan t patients when they suspect abuse. However, with universal screening, more female victims of violence can be identified and can receive nee ded services. (Obstet Gynecol 1998;92:785-9. (C) 1998 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.)