Domestic Violence - Research Paper Example

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE S This report is about the role that health care s play while treating women who are victims of domestic violence during their pregnancy. This report encircles the physical and mental pain that such women go through. Such women need special treatment when admitted in a hospital for treatment of their injuries. Nurses dealing with such cases should be given special training for handling such cases in a proper manner. A Domestic assault may end up having disastrous result when the victim of domestic violence is a pregnant woman. This report further gives an outline as tohow nurses may offer special treatments to such women.After being attacked, victims are at peak of their physical and mental disturbance and that’s when they need the some serious support. Nurses can be of great help to suchwomen as they usually know how to take care of patients during sensitive situations like these.Such women need not only medical treatment but psychological guidance as well. INTRODUCTION Many lives are affected by domestic violence. It is one of the main issues of the rapidly growing world. Although many victims do survive, some of them are not strong enough and usually succumb to the fear and trauma of the incident. In most of the cases, it is the silence of the victim that gives the abuser an authority over them. I got my firsthand experience with a rape victim while I was serving as a junior nurse in the hospital nearby. I was treating a regular patient when I heard a sharp painful voice coming from the hospital’s lobby. Wanting to know what’s going on, I rushed to the lobby and saw a teenage girl being moved on a stretcher to the emergency. Just as I reached nearby to ask what had happened to her, she was rushed into the emergency ward for urgent treatment of her wounds. I still remember that day very correctly. She was inside the emergency room for around two hours and throughout she would keep on shouting at the top of her voice. As soon as the doctor came out from the emergency theatre, I inquired from him what had happened. He didn’t give me many details owing to the critical nature of the case but he just said that the girl’s pregnant and got raped in this situation. Being a woman myself, I got shocked like something had happened to my own self. Soon after, I was assigned to take care of that same patient. When I first went in the room I remember she was still trembling in pain and saying something to her own self. When I went close by I heard her saying “why me, why me?”. I went close to her and told her not worry since I was there to help her though all this. She hesitated and tried to push me away, which clearly indicated that she was very scared to face people now. I tried to talk to her many times but she just wouldn’t respond to me. As a part of my duty, I had to change her bandage and assist her while changing her clothes. I still remember when I took her clothes off to apply medicines to her wounds, I saw a body like none other. She had wounds all over body and they were very deep in nature. It appeared as if someone had tried to harm her with something very sharp in nature. Every time I applied antiseptic on the wounds to clean them she would cry on the top of her voice and refuse to cooperate with me. I often had to take help from other attendants so that they would hold her as I took care of her medicinal needs. This continued for days and I remember as every single day passed her pain increased. She wouldn’t even talk to anyone, not even the doctor. It was after two weeks of treatment that she finally opened up to me. She had tears in her eyes as she started telling me about her story. She told me she was sixteen and got married to her boyfriend of 17 years old. Their parents had kicked them out because they didn’t approve their relationship and so they had to move out and do odd jobs to support their living. As she got pregnant, she stopped going to work and it was on one of those days when her boyfriend hadn’t gotten back from work till late night. Seeing this, her tenant, a 35 year old man broke in and started raping her. She told me that every single time she retaliated she was assaulted by a sharp knife that the tenant had in his hand. Not only physically, but he sexually abused him nonstop for half an hour. It was when she lost her conscious that he left her in cold blood. She told me she was brought to the hospital by her boyfriend and that all these two weeks she has nothing but the thought of that incident in her mind. She told me this was something she would never be able to get over her entire life. 1. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATES TO PREGNANCY Pregnancy is a time in a woman’s life when she needs peace and love. It is a time when the future mother and father plan on how to raise their new generation as they prepare to welcome a new phase of life. It is not necessary that all “would be mothers” go through a wonderful experience during theirpregnancy. There are many women who undergo familial abuse during their months of pregnancy. They are mistreated by their husbands and/or other family members to such an extent that they are of often beaten up by them or are harassed emotionally. For some women pregnancy may be a protective period, but for some women who have violent partner, this period may prove to be their worst nightmare. Women who are abused by their partner during pregnancy have increased chances of being beaten up for rest of their relationship in comparison to those women who are not abused by their partner during this sensitive phase. Instances of brutality during period of pregnancy usually lead to abortions. It is also observed that most of the pregnant women who are abused do not report their case to the police. They are usually scared that doing so would lead them to be kicked out of their homes. (Robin Elise Weiss, 2013) There is a greater risk of violence during pregnancy in families with low income. Similarly teenage or adolescence mothers are also at a higher risk of domestic abuse. Another category is that ofyoung women with old partners. 2. NURSING CARE CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ASSESSMENT Nurses are the first ones with whom the victim and the victim’s family interact. Research shows that the way in which nurses deal with the patients of domestic abuse is inappropriate. The survivals of domestic violence must be dealt with sensitivity, respect and dealt with extra care. Nurses should be provided appropriate knowledge and training for dealing with such cases (Woodtli, 2000). An interview was conducted with 13 experts, in the field of violence related care. They were asked about the feeling, emotions and the psychological conditions that the victims of domestic violence go through. This knowledge was then used, to design a special and effective program for nurses so that they can handle such patients properly and treat then effectively. 3. IMPACT OF BATTERING, ON THE PATIENT AND THE NEW BORN CHILD. Domestic violence during pregnancy is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that may lead to serious health issues. Domestic violence during pregnancy, whether it is physical, mental or emotional, can have its own negative physical and psychological effects on the mother. Such torture is also generally dangerous for the other’s fetus as well. Many women who become a victim of domestic violence adopt unhealthy habits such as drugs, gambling and improper nutritional diets, which ultimatelyaffect their pregnancy. It is estimated that one out of every five women suffers domestic violence during their pregnancy. Effects of domestic violence may cause injuries to the mother and as well as the newborn baby. Pregnancy is a delicate period in a women’s life and it needs to be kept in mind that even a slight greater degree of emotional, physical or psychological abuse can be of high risk for both the mother and child. This may have many harmful effects on the baby and the mother. Such torture may result it uterine rupture, miscarriage, hemorrhaging among other issues. Such violence can make the pushing stage longer and may drop the baby into pelvic as well. 4. PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ASSESSMENT FINDINGS THAT THE NURSE MAY OBSERVE IN A CLIENT WHO HAS BEEN RECENTLY BATTERED OR BATTERED IN THE PAST Abuse is a problem that is occurring globally. Usually the nurses are the first ones who meet the victims and therefore they have a great chance to advocate the patient (Vicky P. Kent PhD, 2010).When a patient with physical injury comes to them, they should examine them carefully, because they may be the case of domestic violence or physical abuse. In some counties it is the ethical responsibility of nurses to inform law making agencies about their findings regarding patients who they believe are victim of assault and battery. For this purpose, it is essential that nurses engage in a conversation with their patients who have experienced abuse. Possible questions to extract information out of them could be: You have several wounds on your body, what happened? Has anyone abused you? Don’t be afraid, you can tell me what happened. Has someone hurt you? Has someone hurt you because they wanted to stop you from seeing someone they don’t like? Has someone sexually abused you? Don’t be afraid you can tell me? The above mentioned question will not scare the patient, but will encourage them to share their problems, thereby helping nurses to understand the case in detail and help such patients. 5. ROLE OF NURSES Nurses are given a chance to contribute towards the increasingly growing system of health care (Skela-Savič & Kydd, 2011). Nurses share a close connection with their patients. They act as first care providers and meet necessities of their patients.They not only work for their patients, but also assist their families during the patient’s treatment phase. Nowadays nurses are working as care coordinators, health coaches, disease managers and community liaisons. Nurses not only treat but they also teach a patient. They often advise and provide affection and support to the patient’s family. They are also known to educate the patient and their familieson how to deal with their illness by exercise and proper diet .They also promote health by creating awareness in people about symptoms of a particular disease. (Howell, 2013) CONCLUSION Nursing is a profession that plays multiple roles at one time. Patients need nurse’s support not only physically but also emotionally. They should be given proper and in depth training on how to treat the patients of physical, mental and sexual abuse. REFRENCES Howell, B. W. (2013). The Changing Role of Nurses. Retrieved february 10, 2013, from Hospital and health networks: http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HHNMAG/Article/data/03MAR2012/0312HHN_FEA_movingforward&domain=HHNMAG Robin Elise Weiss, L. (2013). Domestic Violence in Pregnancy. Retrieved february 10, 2013, from About.com: http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/domesticviolence/a/domesticviol.htm Skela-Savič, B., & Kydd, A. (2011). Nursing knowledge as a response to societal needs : a framework for promoting nursing as a profession . Zdravstveno varstvo, No. 4, vol. 50 , 286-296. Vicky P. Kent PhD, R. C. (2010). Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! Targeting abuse, No. 9, vol.11 , 22-28. Woodtli, M. (2000). Domestic violence and the nursing curriculum: tuning in and tuning up. The Journal of nursing education, No. 7, vol. 6 , 173-82. Read More