TITLE:
Inquiry about Domestic Violence against Women in Healthcare Uganda: Do Practitioner Attitudes, Role Conflicts, Efficacy, Safety Concerns and Support Networks Play a Role?
AUTHORS:
Louise Ehrenberg, Winnie Lawoko-Olwe, Bishop Loum, Kenneth Oketayot, Margarete Akot, Charles Kiyembe, Emmanuel Ochola, David Guwatudde, Stephen Lawoko
KEYWORDS:
Domestic Violence, Screening, Women, Healthcare, Uganda, Predictors
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.7,
May
16,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Objectives:
We scrutinized the extent of inquiry about domestic violence against women by
practitioners in healthcare Uganda, and its relationship with individual,
professional and organization factors. Specifically, we hypothesized that the
frequency of IPV inquiry in healthcare would be associated with practitioner
attitudes, professional role conflicts, self-efficacy, provider/client safety
and system support. Methods: The Domestic Violence Healthcare Provider Survey
Scale questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 376 health care
providers (n = 250 valid responses) from Gulu, Anaka, Lacor and Iganga hospital
situated in northern and eastern Uganda. The data was analyzed using chi-square
tests, correlation tests and ordinal regressions analyses. Results and Conclusions:
We found that over a three month period, the majority of participants (31%) had
inquired about domestic violence exposure among clients between 4 - 6 times,
with 18% having not inquired at all. As hypothesized, low self-efficacy, poor
availability of a support network, high professional role conflicts/fears of
offending patients, and concerns about victim/provider safety reduced the
probability of IPV inquiry. These findings have implications for the
reorganization of the health care settings, review of organization policy and
further training of care personal before IPV inquiry can develop into a
universal routine practice in healthcare Uganda.