Perception of Women with Lived Experience of Domestic Violence and Abuse on the Involvement of the Dental Team in Supporting Adult Patients with Lived Experience of Domestic Abuse in England: A Pilot Study.

Omolade Femi-Ajao

doi:10.3390/ijerph18042024

Abstract

While there is existing evidence highlighting the important roles of health care professionals and the health care system in supporting patients with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), there is a dearth of knowledge on the perception of dental patients on the involvement of the dental team, as health care professionals, in supporting adult patients experiencing domestic abuse. Data were collected from 24 women withs lived experience of domestic abuse using mixed methodological approaches and analysed using relevant analytic techniques. Results from this pilot study show that patients want to be asked about their experience of domestic abuse. Although there were barriers to disclosing to the dentist, evidence from this pilot study highlights that the dental practice is an avenue that can be used for appropriately signposting patients to relevant services. Evidence from this pilot study contributes to the existing knowledge on the need to raise awareness among the patient population with lived experience of DVA that the dental team can support them. In addition, there is a need for on-going training to enhance the capacity of the dental team for appropriately supporting their adult patients with lived experience of DVA.

Highlights

There is a need for on-going training to enhance the capacity of the dental team for appropriately supporting their adult patients with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse (DVA)
Previous studies conducted among dentists on their involvement in asking patients about domestic abuse suggests that dentists were afraid of offending patients by asking about domestic abuse [38], emerging evidence from this study suggests that patients want to be asked about their experience of DVA, especially if they present with injuries from DVA
Study participants perceived it as part of the duty of the dentists to refer women for additional support once they make a disclosure, there were concerns about the capability of the dentist to respond to DVA

Summary

Introduction

Little attention has been paid to the negative impact of domestic violence and abuse [4,5]. With the World Health Assembly in 1996 declaring violence against women a public health issue [3], and the resultant increase in evidence from empirical research highlighting the public health impact of domestic violence on women, e.g., [2], global regulations and conventions have been enacted to end domestic violence and abuse against women and girls [6]. Developments in the field of women’s health over the last thirty years have led to renewed interest in improving support for female victims and survivors, with many agencies and women’s rights activist groups highlighting the need for governments and health care providers to enhance disclosure practices among women with lived experience of abuse [1,7,8]. Health care professionals have been identified as being in strategic positions for identifying and supporting women, by aiding disclosure and help seeking [8,13,14]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion