title: Patient attitudes about mandatory reporting of domestic violence. Implications for health care professionals.
abstract: As of January 1994, California physicians are required to report to police all patients who are suspected to be victims of domestic violence. This article describes the results from a focus group study of abused women (n = 51) that explored their experiences with and perspectives on medical care. The eight focus groups included two Latina (total n = 14), two Asian (total n = 14), two African-American (total n = 9), and two Caucasian (total n = 14) groups of women who had been the victims of domestic abuse within the previous 2 years. The women were recruited through community-based organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. With regard to physician reporting of domestic violence to police, five themes were identified: fear of retaliation by the abuser, fear of family separation, mistrust of the legal system, desire for police protection, and preference for confidentiality and autonomy in the patient-health professional relationship. Our results indicate that mandatory reporting may pose a threat to the safety and well-being of abused women and may create barriers to their seeking help and communicating with health care professionals about domestic violence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People; D002140:California; D003142:Communication; D003219:Confidentiality; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005195:Family Relations; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005610:Freedom; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007843:Latin America / Q000208:ethnology; D035846:Law Enforcement; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D008875:Middle Aged; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D016495:Police / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012449:Safety; D012495:San Francisco; D044465:White People