Akça Toprak Ergönen

A Domestic Violence Course For Medical Students: A Study on Its Effectiveness

International health institutions emphasize the necessity of including the topic of domestic violence which is accepted as a health problem worldwide, into the training of physicians. The fact that physicians should diagnose domestic violence victims who over the years were either neglected or overlooked is also mentioned. The present study aims to measure the effectiveness of the interactive domestic violence course given to Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine (DEUFM) Year V students, with tests implemented before and after the course. The same students were given the same test during Year VI (internship). The students’ average knowledge scores were found respectively as follows: pretest 78.66 ± 10.54, second test 94.13 ± 3.95 and third test 89.65 ± 7.48. There was a statistically significant difference between tests’ average scores. It was observed that, after the course, 4 out of 19 students (21.1%) changed their answers from “no” to “yes” for the question “Have you ever been a victim of physical domestic violence?” A statistically significant difference was found between pre-course answers and the after course answers given to this question. This study showed that the course on domestic violence increased students’ knowledge level and awareness on this issue. Considering that average knowledge level will decrease over time and aiming to improve future physicians’ approach to domestic violence cases, addition of other interactive educational methods to Year V’s course program and proposal of an advanced training session to Year VI’s curriculum are being planned.

Domestic violence survivors and their experiences during legal process.

BACKGROUND Many victims of domestic violence do not seek recourse to the needed medical and legal services. The aim of this study was to determine the difficulties faced by and experiences of female survivors of domestic violence during their medical and legal proceedings. METHOD We designed our study using a qualitative approach to understand the experiences of survivors during the legal process as well as their feelings and attitudes towards domestic violence through in-depth interviews. The data obtained from the participants were analyzed and synthesized using a thematic analysis procedure. RESULTS Most of our participants reported different types of domestic violence, citing feelings of fear and loneliness during these experiences. They reported feeling dissatisfied with their complaints being ignored by the police and the perpetrators remaining unpunished. They complained of the complex procedures and negligence of staff in health-care centers such as hospitals, and they reported being shifted to several different places. CONCLUSION We believe that an assessment of such female survivors in terms of specific standards set by specialists will help make improvements to the legal process. Education programs should be organized for professionals dealing with survivors of domestic violence. Special health-care services with fast proceedings must be established in health-care centers.