Development of a practice framework for improving nurses’ responses to intimate partner violence

Caroline Bradbury‐Jones, Maria T Clark, Jayne Parry and Julie Taylor

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2017, vol. 26, issue 15-16, 2495-2502

Abstract: Aims and objectives The aim of this article is to discuss critically the theoretical concepts of awareness, recognition and empowerment as manifested in intimate partner violence and to show how these can be translated into a practice framework for improving nurses’ response. Background Intimate partner violence is a universal problem and is considered a significant public health issue. Nurses are in an ideal position to recognise and respond to intimate partner violence, but many lack confidence in this area of practice. In our previous empirical work, we identified three concepts through which nurses’ responses to intimate partner violence can be understood: awareness, recognition and empowerment. In this article, we advance nursing knowledge by showing how these concepts can form a practice framework to improve nurses’ responses to intimate partner violence. Design A discussion paper and development of a practice framework to improve nurses’ responses to intimate partner violence. Discussion The framework comprises three principal needs of women and three related key requirements for nurses to meet these needs. Arising from these are a range of practice outcomes: enhanced understanding of intimate partner violence, increased confidence in recognising intimate partner violence, establishment of trusting relationships, increased likelihood of disclosure and optimised safety. Conclusions Nurses sometimes lack confidence in recognising and responding to intimate partner violence. Awareness, recognition and empowerment are important concepts that can form the basis of a framework to support them. When nurses feel empowered to respond to intimate partner violence, they can work together with women to optimise their safety. Relevance to clinical practice Access to adequate and timely intimate partner violence education and training is important in improving nurses’ responses to intimate partner violence. Getting this right can lead to enhanced safety planning and better health outcomes for women who experience intimate partner violence. Although difficult to measure as an outcome, nurses’ improved responses can contribute to higher rates of referral for help and reduction in intimate partner violence rates.

Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13276

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:26:y:2017:i:15-16:p:2495-2502

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Clinical Nursing from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().