A randomized controlled study of brief interventions to teach residents about domestic violence

PURPOSE. To test an educational intervention regarding domestic violence. METHOD. Residents beginning their training in 1995 or 1996 were randomly as signed to attend, at their hospital orientation, either a 20-minute session emphasizing the importance of screening for domestic Violence or a session on an unrelated topic. RESULTS. Seventy-one percent of the residents in the experimental group dia gnosed domestic violence; 52% in the control did so (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.96 -1.90; p =.07) in the nine to 12 months following the intervention. Rates o f diagnosis differed by specialty (P <.01): 100% family practice, 90% emerg ency medicine, 80% obstetrics-gynecology, 63% pediatrics, 47% internal medi cine, 0% surgery. Change in knowledge was assessed in 1996; significant imp rovement was noted (p =.002). CONCLUSION. An intervention about domestic violence conducted at orientatio n for residents improved the rate of diagnosis of domestic violence. While the improvement was not statistically significant in this case, the interve ntion was brief and harmless. Other institutions should consider this kind of brief intervention.