Effective identification and management of domestic violence within the ED setting

Project Duration

November 2013 - June 2014

Funder

Nottingham Hospitals Charity

Aims

The consequences of domestic abuse are far reaching, impacting significantly on the physical health and emotional wellbeing of those affected. There is a clear body of evidence which indicates that a significant number of people attend emergency departments (ED) either as a direct result of abuse or through related admissions, for example self-harm. However, it has also been recognised that may of those who present to ED as a result of abuse are not identified as such. 

The ED in Nottingham (NUH) has recently developed a domestic abuse nurse specialist post. This is a new role and represents one of only a few in the UK. 

In the absence of any clear evaluations, either locally or nationally, this project will examine current provision generally, the impact of the nurse specialist role and potential future developments. This will be set alongside the existing literature and emerging policy, including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on responses to domestic abuse (February 2014). This project is also directly linked to a similarly funded project which is evaluating the role of the domestic abuse nurse specialist role in acute care settings (PI Dr Julie McGarry).

Methods

Unknown. 

Outcomes and Findings

This project is now complete.