Assessment Description

What characteristics would lead a provider to suspect domestic violence, child abuse, or elder abuse is taking place within a family? Discuss your facility’s procedure for reporting these types of abuse.

Health Education And Current Challenges For Family-Centered Health Promotion-Sample Solution

Characteristics and Reporting of  Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, or Elder Abuse

Family and domestic health violence impact over 10 million people in the US annually (Huecker et al., 2022). Despite the extensive physical and psychological impacts of domestic violence, child abuse, or elder abuse, most cases are often underreported and inadequately addressed. At the frontline of care, providers offer an avenue to identify and initiate support and assistance to suspected or at-risk victims (Huecker et al., 2022). Healthcare providers can identify the characteristics by evaluating risk factors among family members, including anger management issues, low self-esteem, feeling inferior, cultural beliefs, personality and psychological disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, and learned behavior.(Health-Education and Domestic Violence Essay-Example)

Signs of child abuse include common injuries such as bruises, contusions, fractures, and internal bleeding. Providers should also inquire about unusual injuries to the neck, torso, or ears (Huecker et al., 2022). Abused children are often unkempt and malnourished and tend to display undesired behavior like aggressiveness, shyness, poor communication skills, and withdrawal. Intimate partner violence (IPV) can be identified using signs of injuries in common sites, including head, neck, and face (Huecker et al., 2022). Victims tend to cover their injuries using clothes. Other injuries can be found in intimate areas like breasts, genitals, rectum, and buttocks (Huecker et al., 2022). IPV victims can have defensive injuries on the hands and forearms. Psychological signs include depression, fatigue, and anxiety, and patients tend to complain of headaches, palpitations, chronic pain, chest pain, and painful intercourse (Patra et al., 2018). Signs of elder abuse primarily include social isolation (Rosen et al., 2018). Unexpected Injuries, burns, scars, malnourishment, and fear are reported signs of elder abuse. Elders can also display confusion, withdrawal, and depression (Rosen et al., 2018). Elders who appear dirty, underfed, under-medicated, dehydrated, and experience bed sores can be experiencing abuse.  (Health-Education and Domestic Violence Essay-Example)

Procedure of Reporting Abuse

Child and elder abuse and domestic violence cases are often underreported due to inadequate guidelines for identifying abuse victims (Huecker et al., 2022). The organization provides a procedural reporting method for healthcare providers. When a healthcare provider suspects or identifies abuse, the first step is contacting the police and Victim Support, depending on the victim’s needs and any additional help requested. The healthcare provider should explain available support and services before making the case a legal investigation. The healthcare provider should help the victim evaluate needs and options, including referring the victim to child and social services. Local law enforcement agencies should be involved in all cases of domestic violence. The healthcare provider should involve an independent domestic violence advisor who will help the victim complete the paperwork, develop safety plans, explain the procedure and positive outcomes of legal enforcement, and help with child protection issues and other issues such as housing. The healthcare provider should refer the patient to mental health practitioners for emotional and psychological support.(Health-Education and Domestic Violence Essay-Example)

References

Huecker, M.R., King, K.C., & Jordan, G.A. (2022). Domestic Violence. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

Patra, P., Prakash, J., Patra, B., & Khanna, P. (2018). Intimate partner violence: Wounds are deeper. Indian journal of psychiatry, 60(4), 494–498. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_74_17

Rosen, T., Stern, M. E., Elman, A., & Mulcare, M. R. (2018). Identifying and Initiating Intervention for Elder Abuse and Neglect in the Emergency Department. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 34(3), 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2018.04.007