According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 37% of all women who seek care in hospital emergency rooms for violence-related injuries were hurt by a current or former spouse or partner. Because so many health care providers come into contact with victims of domestic abuse on a regular basis, the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence has developed a wide range of services to help doctors, nurses and other health professionals identify and assist violence victims. These resources include clinical guidelines for domestic violence screening, training programs and a national toll-free information hotline, (888) Rx-ABUSE.
Until recently, nurses with hearing disabilities were unable to take advantage of the telephone hotline. But now the resource center has bridged this information gap by adding a new TTY number for the hearing impaired, (800) 595-4TTY. As with the regular hotline, callers to the TTY number can request free information, talk to an expert on domestic violence and be connected to a national network of specialists who can provide training or consultation on domestic abuse.
“Too often, victims of domestic violence do not get the assistance they need because their health care providers do not have the training, information and tools to successfully address abuse,” says Esta Soler, director of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. “This new TTY number will let us reach and educate even more health care providers who are in a unique position to help victims of abuse.”
Nurses can learn more about the full range of domestic violence prevention resources available from the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence by visiting www.endabuse.org/programs/healthcare.
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