Increasing identification of domestic violence in emergency departments: A collaborative contribution to increasing the quality of practice of emergency nurses

This project was initiated to improve the quality of identification and response practices of Emergency Department (ED) nursing staff dealing with possible victims of domestic violence (DV). Nursing staff were trained to identify three key actions in the pathway for domestic violence presentations in the ED. A survey of ED staff was taken pre-training to determine a base-line measure of self-reported knowledge regarding domestic violence policies and practices. The survey was re-administered 1 month and 6 months post-training. A file audit was also undertaken prior to and following the training. Results show the training improved the nurses' confidence, practice and skills in the identification of, and response to, domestic violence, particularly in relation to children. ED nurses are well placed to identify and respond to domestic violence as the ED provides a gateway into health services for women and their children. This paper reports on a participatory action research project which aimed to improve quality and practice around DV for ED staff. The dissemination of the results in this paper are considered to be essential to health services due to dearth of information and research about best practice initiatives for responding to and recognizing domestic violence in the ED.