• Identify domestic violence victims and perpetrators in clinical practice.
• Determine the number of patients in a doctor’s office who are likely to be victims of domestic violence and the number who are likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence.
• Recognize the cycle of violence, and assess where the patient’s domestic violence relationship fits into the cycle.
• Explain the legal system process experienced by victims and perpetrators.
• Differentiate domestic violence courts from others in the judicial system.
• Appropriately refer patients who are victims of domestic violence to counseling, victim support groups and protection services.
• Utilize resources in the local community, such as domestic violence centers and other advocacy groups that provide legal aid, shelter, victim counseling, or child protection services.

Bibliography

• Chen, P. H., Rovi, S., Washington, J., Jacobs, A., Vega, M., Pan, K. Y., & Johnson, M. S. (2007). Randomized comparison of 3 methods to screen for domestic violence in family practice. The Annals of Family Medicine, 5(5), 430-435.
• MacMillan, H. L., Wathen, C. N., Jamieson, E., Boyle, M. H., Shannon, H. S., Ford-Gilboe, M., ... & McNutt, L. A. (2009). Screening for intimate partner violence in health care settings: a randomized trial. Jama, 302(5), 493-501.
• O’Doherty, L. J., Taft, A., Hegarty, K., Ramsay, J., Davidson, L. L., & Feder, G. (2014). Screening women for intimate partner violence in healthcare settings: abridged Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj, 348, g2913.
• O'Doherty, L., Hegarty, K., Ramsay, J., Davidson, L. L., Feder, G., & Taft, A. (2015). Screening women for intimate partner violence in healthcare settings. The Cochrane Library.
• Halldorsdottir, T., Kurtoic, D., Müller-Myhsok, B., Binder, E. B., & Blair, C. (2019). Neurobiology of self-regulation: longitudinal influence of FKBP5 and intimate partner violence on emotional and cognitive development in childhood. American journal of psychiatry, appi-ajp.
• Fonzo, G. A. (2019). Childhood Maltreatment and Amygdala Threat Reactivity in Young Adults—Timing Is Everything. JAMA psychiatry.

Patient Resources

• Miami-Dade County Community Services for Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking
• National Domestic Violence Hotline – Downloadable Posters
  Display posters in your clinical practice where a victim of domestic violence may be able to access information privately (i.e. bathroom, etc.).
• Community Resources/Agencies
• AAFP Social Needs Screening Tool
• Pauline Anderson. Top Risk Factor for Mental Disorders Identified - Medscape - Jan. 27, 2020. 

Original release date: February 2016
Review date: January 2023