title: Te contaria mi vida: I would tell you my life, if only you would ask.
abstract: Universal screening for domestic violence is recommended in many health care settings. This qualitative study was undertaken to explore the thoughts and feelings of Mexican American women regarding being asked questions about domestic violence by a health care provider. We wanted to further explore what characteristics about a nurse, or other health care provider, would give a woman confianza, the trust necessary to discuss this issue. Seven women, who self identified as abused or formerly abused, were recruited from a pool of Spanish-speaking women receiving services from a rural domestic violence agency in the midwestern United States. The researchers found that, given certain characteristics and actions of the health care provider, women welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue. The implications for practice are these: be sincerely present for the client, ask about her life, listen to her response, and when necessary assist her to connect with appropriate domestic violence community services.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Marquette University, Clark Hall, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881, USA. rbelknap@Marquette.edu
authors.forename: Ruth Ann
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Belknap
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sayeed
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations