Abstract
Intimate partner violence is a common but under-recognised issue for women attending primary care. There is a lack of studies looking at women's comfort to discuss and openness to getting help for health issues, including fear of a partner, in primary care. Female patients (aged 16-50 years) attending 55 general practitioners (GPs) in Victoria, Australia were mailed a brief survey that screened for health and lifestyle issues, comfort to discuss these issues and intention to get help in primary care. Needing physical activity and smoking were the issues women were most comfortable to discuss; followed by difficulty controlling what and/or how much is eaten, feeling down, depressed, hopeless or worried, and use of drugs or alcohol. Women were least comfortable to discuss fear of a partner and least likely to seek help for it from the GP or primary care nurse. However, as with the other issues, acceptability of being asked in a survey was high. All health and lifestyle issues predicted fear of a partner. Primary care practitioners should be aware of this complex major public health issue especially when carrying out preventive health care.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 327-331 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Australian Journal of Primary Health |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- domestic violence
- prevention
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Health Policy