Family violence and maternal mortality in the south Asian community: the role of obstetrical care providers.
OBJECTIVE
South Asian women face multiple barriers to accessing information and support if they are experiencing spousal abuse. We conducted a study among South Asian women in Surrey, British Columbia, to define a role for obstetrical care providers in assisting women who experience family violence.


METHODS
South Asian women survivors of abuse participated with representatives of family and victim services agencies in a workshop to identify key opportunities for violence prevention and intervention by obstetrical care providers. Participants grouped issues affecting women's vulnerability to violence into four themes and identified strategies to address them.


RESULTS
Themes focused on cultural issues, services and supports, education and prevention, and policy and advocacy. Participants highlighted challenges posed by the patriarchal nature of their culture and, for many families, by recent immigration. They emphasized the importance of routine assessment for family violence by obstetrical care providers and stressed the need to treat the entire family, not just the identified victim. They focused on the role of the caregiver as a conduit of information about social services and other resources. Community-level interventions to address abuse were endorsed, including the use of lay media to deliver key messages about health and safety.


CONCLUSIONS
Pregnancy offers caregivers an opportunity to be advocates and to provide information and referrals for women in the South Asian community who may be at risk of violence. Obstetrical caregivers may be an important influence in protecting women from lethal harm.
Janssen
Patricia A
PA
School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC; Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC; Child and Family Research Institute, Vancouver BC.
Henderson
Angela D
AD
School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC.
MacKay
Kathleen L
KL
Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC.
D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D004243:Divorce / Q000208:ethnology; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008428:Maternal Mortality / Q000208:ethnology*; D010154:Pakistan / Q000208:ethnology; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000208:ethnology