Trauma Grand Rounds: Domestic Violence

presented by Carolyn J. Sachs, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Health care workers often encounter victims of domestic violence and may lack the necessary training to identify and treat them effectively.  This lecture provides an overview of the general societal problem of intimate partner violence and specifically addresses the health care worker’s role in detection, treatment, documentation and referral of victims. Pros and cons of mandatory domestic violence reporting legislation are also presented.

Desired Outcomes:

• Define domestic violence
• Identify the profiles of victims
• Identify the profiles of perpetrators
• Use case history factors to identify domestic violence
• Use universal screening to identify all domestic violence cases
• Implement treatment strategies with traumatic injuries related to domestic violence
• Document domestic violence cases in the ED
• Appropriately follow the referral process in domestic violence cases

CME Activity Flyer (PDF)