Although studies have documented high rates of undetected domestic violence (DV) among primary care patients, few interventions have been shown to improve physician screening for DV. Multimodal educational outreach which has been shown to improve physician performance in areas other than DV may be an effective tool for training physicians to screen and manage DV in primary care.
Aims : 1) To evaluate the feasibility of an on-site multimodal intervention designed to improve physician screening and management of DV in primary care. 2) To evaluate the impact of the intervention on physician attitudes, knowledge, behavior and office systems regarding detection and management of DV. 3) To evaluate the feasibility of using simulated patients to assess physician skills for screening and managing DV. METHODS: Multimodal educational outreach to physicians regarding appropriate screening and management of DV will be piloted with 4 physicians. A trained DV detailer will make periodic office visits to educate the physicians and staff regarding appropriate screening and management of DV. The feasibility and effectiveness of this approach will be evaluated using quantitative and qualitative methods to include physicians and staff, DV detailer notes, and review of audiotapes of detailing sessions, SP visits, and physician and staff interviews. SIGNIFICANCE AND ORIGINALITY: Domestic violence has a serious impact on society. The investigators provide a substantive review of the literature, which among other things, documents that detection of domestic violence in the primary care clinical encounter is all but non-existent. The investigators proposed a complex but well thought out educational intervention which uses proven educational methodologies to attempt to change physician attitudes and behaviors as well as office practices in the identification and management of domestic violence.
