Implementation of a program to teach pediatric residents and faculty about domestic violence.
OBJECTIVE
To obtain information about pediatric resident and staff knowledge, attitudes, and screening practices related to domestic violence (DV), to implement a domestic violence education program, and to evaluate whether the program resulted in changes in these 3 domains.


METHODS
Interventional with before and after survey evaluation.


METHODS
A hospital-based, pediatric residency continuity clinic that serves families in Pittsburgh, Pa.


METHODS
Pediatric residents (n = 51), medicine-pediatric residents (n = 6), continuity clinic faculty (n = 22), and certified-registered nurse practitioners (n = 5).


RESULTS
Prior to implementation of the DV education program, respondents correctly answered questions about the prevalence of DV (74 participants [90%]), the racial distribution of DV victims (66 participants [80%]), and the significant overlap between child abuse and DV (75 participants [91%]). Seventy-nine participants (96%) believed that screening for the presence of DV was part of their role as pediatric health care providers. At baseline, 17 (21%) of the 82 participants reported that they were routinely screening for signs of DV during well-child care visits compared with 39 (46%) after attending the education program (P =.005). Among participants who attended both educational session 25% (9/36) were routinely screening for the presence of DV prior to the intervention, compared with 46% (16/35) after the intervention (P =.008). At baseline, 33 (40%) of the 82 participants had identified at least 1 case of DV in the prior 6 months compared with 45 (53%) after training. Prior to training, 18 participants (22%) were aware of resources for DV victims compared with 45 (53%) after training (P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is one of the first pediatric studies to demonstrate that using a short, multifaceted educational module, it is possible to change DV screening practices and to increase identification of DV victims among pediatric residents, continuity clinic faculty, and certified-registered nurse practitioners at a pediatric teaching hospital.
Berger
Rachel P
RP
Department of Pediatrics, Pittsburgh Child Advocacy Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. rberger@pitt.edu
Bogen
Debra
D
Dulani
Tina
T
Broussard
Elsie
E
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric