Detection and prevention of domestic violence

CRG Report Number
33-89

Criminology Research Council grant ; (33/89)

The products of this research, comprising various papers and journal articles, have been bound in one volume under the project's title.

An epidemiological study was conducted at the Emergency Department of Royal Brisbane Hospital, a major public hospital. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rates of victims of domestic violence who present at an Emergency Department in Australia; to determine their detection rates by medical staff; to determine the barriers to disclosure by domestic violence victims to health professionals; to describe the characteristics of victims of domestic violence who attend the Emergency Department and to enhance the management of domestic violence related problems by staff.

The study has provided the first Australian data on domestic violence victims in the emergency department of a large metropolitan public hospital. The findings of the study have impacted on the health services in Queensland. The principles of education for doctors and nurses about domestic violence which were established in this project have been adopted by Queensland Health in the training programs for doctors and nurses in Queensland public hospitals which commenced in 1992. Materials which were developed for the education program at Royal Brisbane Hospital have been adapted and produced jointly by Queensland Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland.

The findings from this study have been presented at national and international conferences. The study has provided a stimulus for research in other emergency departments of hospitals in Australia, and this type of research is currently being replicated by the Northern Sydney Area Health Service at Royal North Shore Hospital. The research highlighted the need for further investigation of the psychiatric consequences of being a victim of domestic violence.