BMJ  2004;328 (13 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7440.0-d

How do general practitioners manage domestic violence?

General practitioners identify and manage partner abuse in various ways, and often lack expertise to treat these patients and their families. Taft and colleagues (p 618) interviewed 28 Australian general practitioners who attended training on management of domestic violence. They found that a few doctors practised in recommended ways, some used contraindicated practices, and many were uneasy about treating victims of intimate partner abuse and concerned about the optimal care of their children. The authors emphasise existing good practice and argue that more GPs should use recommended guidelines, refrain from counselling couples, emphasise safety and confidentiality, and refer to specialised agencies.

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Relevant Article

General practitioner management of intimate partner abuse and the whole family: qualitative study

Angela Taft, Dorothy H Broom, and David Legge
BMJ 2004 328: 618. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]