Read discussion below. Describe how your Florida abuse-reporting requirements align or differ.
Discuss the educational resources identified in your peer’s posting and analyze the appropriateness of these resources for facilitating patient safety.
One of the reasons that victims frequently cited for not reporting abuse was fear of the repercussions that coming forward about domestic violence would have. The fear that their kids would be taken away was the worst possible outcome of disclosing abuse (Heron & Eisma, 2021). Secondly, victims feared criticism from the HCP or from those in their own circle, such as their family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Thirdly, victims expressed that fear of their abuser further kept them from coming forward. For instance, they were concerned about what would happen if their abuser learned about their disclosure and whether the medical facility would be able to protect them, especially as their abuser frequently threatened them before they disclosed. (Heron & Eisma, 2021)
To address these barriers, it is important to make victims aware of the resources and options available to disclose in the healthcare service. This could either be by making posters and pamphlets visible and available in the waiting room or by talking about resources during the appointment. Another mentioned advice was for HCPs to directly ask their patients about domestic abuse. To encourage disclosure there needs to be an effort to make the environment safe, private and confidential (Heron & Eisma, 2021).
It is the responsibility of registered nurses to report known or observed instances of abuse to the appropriate authorities. This mandate applies to those situations that occur in the RN’s professional capacity or within the scope of employment. The medical record should reflect the incident as described by the patient and any physical exam findings. Include the date and time the report was taken and the officer’s name and badge number if a report is filed (Heuker et al., 2022) (CT.gov, 2022).
Some resources available to nurses include National Council on Aging, Child Welfare.gov, and North American Council on Adoptive Children (Heron & Eisma, 2021). The state laws regarding the Nurse Practice Act are available as reference in this situation (Ct.gov, 2022). There is also the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-7990-7233 –
Resources available to patients include Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, The National Association to end Child Abuse and Neglect, and Adult Survivors of Abuse (Heron & Eisma, 2021).
References
CT.gov Department of Public Health. (2022)
Heron R, Eisma M. (2021) Barriers and facilitators of disclosing domestic violence to the healthcare service: A systematic review of qualitative research. Health Soc Care Community.29(3):612-630. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13282. Epub 2021 Jan 13. PMID: 33440034; PMCID:
Huecker, M., King, K., Jordan, G. (2022) Domestic Violence. StatPearls Publishing; Available from:
