Barriers Faced by Australian and New Zealand Women When Sharing Experiences of Family Violence with Primary Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review

Article


Rathnayake, Jayamini Chathurika, Pozian, Nadirah Mat, Carroll, Julie-Anne and King, Julie. 2023. "Barriers Faced by Australian and New Zealand Women When Sharing Experiences of Family Violence with Primary Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review." Healthcare. 11 (18). https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11182486
Article Title

Barriers Faced by Australian and New Zealand Women When Sharing Experiences of Family Violence with Primary Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review

ERA Journal ID212680
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsRathnayake, Jayamini Chathurika, Pozian, Nadirah Mat, Carroll, Julie-Anne and King, Julie
Journal TitleHealthcare
Journal Citation11 (18)
Article Number2486
Number of Pages14
Year2023
PublisherMDPI AG
Place of PublicationSwitzerland
ISSN2227-9032
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11182486
Web Address (URL)https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/18/2486
Abstract

Abstract: Despite the Australian Government’s attempts to reduce domestic violence (DV) incidences, impediments within the social and health systems and current interventions designed to identify DV victims may be contributing to female victims’ reluctance to disclose DV experiences to their primary healthcare providers. This scoping review aimed to provide the state of evidence regarding reluctance to disclose DV incidents, symptoms and comorbidities that patients present to healthcare providers, current detection systems and interventions in clinical settings, and recommendations to generate more effective responses to DV. Findings revealed that female victims are reluctant to disclose DV because they do not trust or believe that general practitioners can help them to solve their issues, and they do not acknowledge that they are in an abusive relationship, and are unaware that they are in one, or have been victims of DV. The most common symptoms and comorbidities victims present with are sleep difficulties, substance use and anxiety. Not all GPs are equipped with knowledge about comorbidities signalling cases of DV. These DV screening programs are the most prominent intervention types within Australian primary health services and are currently not sufficiently nuanced nor sensitive to screen with accuracy. Finally, this scoping review provides formative evidence that in order for more accurate and reliable data regarding disclosure in healthcare settings to be collected, gender power imbalances in the health workforce should be redressed, and advocacy of gender equality and the change of social structures in both Australia and New Zealand remain the focus for reducing DV in these countries.

Keywordsdomestic violence; primary healthcare; general practitioners; female victims; nurses; midwives
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020420319. Primary health care
Byline AffiliationsQueensland University of Technology
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