| Abstract [eng] |
Domestic violence (DV) is one of the most serious health problems. According to the World Health Organisation, one in three women in the world has experienced DV. Health care institutions response to DV lags far behind than the other institutions that have contact with the victims, despite the fact that most families experiencing DV frequently visit such institutions. Aim of the study: to assess the preparedness of personal health care professionals to provide personal health care services to women who have experienced DV. Objectives of the study: 1. To assess the knowledge and skills of personal health care professionals in providing personal health care services to women who have experienced DV, 2. To reveal the factors influencing the accessibility of personal health care services to women who have experienced DV from the point of view of personal health care professionals. Methods: A mixed methodology was applied, integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative research involved professionals from personal health care institutions (PHCIs). A total of 217 completed questionnaires were received. The qualitative research was carried out with the participation of personal health care professionals, who in the last question of the quantitative research questionnaire indicated that they agreed to take part in the research and left their contact details for further contact. The qualitative research used a semi-structured individual interview method, following the interview guidelines. The interviews were conducted with 5 professionals from the PHCIs. The unit of data analysis was the interview texts. Qualitative data from the interviews were analysed using descriptive and analytical statistics. P-value was calculated using the χ² test for differences between the groups formed in the analysis. The level of statistical significance α = 0.05 was chosen and differences were considered statistically significant when p ≤ α. Results and conclusions: More than half of the respondents know where they can find information on violence prevention, but 8 out of 10 have not received training on violence prevention and recognition in the last two years. The vast majority of professionals identified 6 out of 11 physical and 9 out of 10 psychological/behavioural signs of violence. Looking at the factors influencing service accessibility, four main themes were identified: economic, communication, organisational and organisational accessibility related to human resources. A fifth theme also emerged: expectations that could improve the quality and accessibility of personal health care services for women who have experienced domestic violence. |
