title: Ready, willing and able? A survey of clinicians' perceptions about domestic violence screening in a regional hospital emergency department.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Domestic violence (DV) has significant health impacts for victims and their families. Despite evidence that routine screening increases the identification of DV and opportunities for support; routine screening is uncommon in Australian emergency departments (EDs). This study explored ED clinicians' level of support for DV screening; current screening practices; and perceived barriers and readiness to screen prior to a pilot intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Census survey of 76 ED clinicians. A number of questionnaire items were generated through a review of the literature, with readiness to screen for DV assessed through the short version of the Domestic Violence Healthcare Provider Scale [1]. The confidential and anonymous online survey was hosted on the Qualtrics platform. Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 22.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most clinicians supported screening for DV in the ED. In the absence of protocols, 72.3% (n=55) of clinicians reported currently engaging in case-based screening, which preferenced women with physical injury. The majority did not always feel comfortable screening for DV (79.7% n=59) and reported they had received insufficient training for this role (88.7% n=55). Lower perceived self-efficacy and fear of offending were statistically associated with discomfort or negative beliefs about DV enquiry (p=<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emergency department clinicians reported feeling ill-equipped and under-prepared to inquire about and respond to DV. These findings provide valuable insight about the training and support needs of ED clinicians prior to the commencement of routine screening in EDs.
authors.affiliation: Northern New South Wales Local Health District, PO Box 498, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia. Electronic address: ellie.saberi@ncahs.health.gov.au.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saberi
authors.affiliation: Northern New South Wales Local Health District, PO Box 498, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eather
authors.affiliation: Northern New South Wales Local Health District, PO Box 498, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia; University Centre for Rural Health North Coast, PO Box 480, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
authors.forename: Sharene
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pascoe
authors.affiliation: Northern New South Wales Local Health District, PO Box 498, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
authors.forename: Mary-Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: McFadzean
authors.affiliation: Southern Cross University, Rifle Range Rd, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Doran
authors.affiliation: Southern Cross University, Hogbin Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D019548:Crime Victims; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009517:New South Wales; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D020377:Self Efficacy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Domestic violence; Emergency department; Routine screening; Survey