Addressing Needs of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors in the Emergency Department

Addressing Needs of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors in the Emergency Department by Claudia F. Schenk MSW, University of Michigan, 1990 BA, Oakland University, 1988 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human and Social Services Walden University August 2017 Abstract Intimate partner violence is a global epidemic and public health concern, including in the United States. The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental, quantitative study was to determine to what extent intimate partner violence survivors avail themselves of offered resources and interventions in health care settings. The general systems foundation was used for the study’s theoretical foundation. The research questions ascertained the proportion of intimate partner violence survivors who accepted mental health, law enforcement, and community outreach resources; the level of comprehensive intervention they received; and the associations, if any, between types of services. Retrospective data were collected from121 medical records from an emergency department in the Midwest United States. Descriptive statistics were performed on collected medical record data and chi-square analyses were performed in an exploratory manner to determine associations between types and numbers of other services accepted. The outcomes indicated that the majority of participants accepted comprehensive intervention, social work or mental health intervention was the most frequently accepted service, and the majority of patients who accepted social work accepted other services. Anticipated social implications may include survivors receiving multi-disciplinary interventions sooner, increased efforts by health care providers to work collaboratively with community agencies, continued development of hospital policy and protocols, and opportunities for further research. Society may ultimately benefit from a decreased economic cost to society and a positive impact in growth and development of witnessing children.Intimate partner violence is a global epidemic and public health concern, including in the United States. The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental, quantitative study was to determine to what extent intimate partner violence survivors avail themselves of offered resources and interventions in health care settings. The general systems foundation was used for the study’s theoretical foundation. The research questions ascertained the proportion of intimate partner violence survivors who accepted mental health, law enforcement, and community outreach resources; the level of comprehensive intervention they received; and the associations, if any, between types of services. Retrospective data were collected from121 medical records from an emergency department in the Midwest United States. Descriptive statistics were performed on collected medical record data and chi-square analyses were performed in an exploratory manner to determine associations between types and numbers of other services accepted. The outcomes indicated that the majority of participants accepted comprehensive intervention, social work or mental health intervention was the most frequently accepted service, and the majority of patients who accepted social work accepted other services. Anticipated social implications may include survivors receiving multi-disciplinary interventions sooner, increased efforts by health care providers to work collaboratively with community agencies, continued development of hospital policy and protocols, and opportunities for further research. Society may ultimately benefit from a decreased economic cost to society and a positive impact in growth and development of witnessing children. Addressing Needs of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors in the Emergency Department by Claudia F. Schenk MSW, University of Michigan, 1990 BA, Oakland University, 1988 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human and Social Services Walden University August 2017