Attitudes and behaviours of family physicians towards clinical practice around intimate partner violence: a view from the Çankaya district of Ankara, Turkey

• Published in: Australian journal of primary health 2023-12, Vol.29 (6), p.625-636
• Main Authors: Sarıca Çevik, Hüsna, Tekiner, Selda, Ceyhun Peker, Ayşe Gülsen, Ungan, Mehmet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Clinical medicine; COVID-19; Decision making; Domestic violence; Emotional abuse; Families & family life; Family physicians; Gender roles; Gender-based violence; Intimate partner violence; Low income groups; Medical referrals; Medicine; Notification; Patients; Physicians; Power; Practitioner patient relationship; Primary care; Public health; Questionnaires; Sociodemographics; Specialists; Stereotypes; Survivor; Talking; Training; Women
• ISSN: 1448-7527; 1836-7399
• DOI: 10.1071/PY22133

Background Although family physicians (FPs) often encounter patients who have been subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV), the data on FPs’ response to IPV is limited. This study aimed to determine FPs’ attitudes towards IPV survivors in the Çankaya district of Ankara, Turkey. Methods An online questionnaire designed to elicit sociodemographic information and FPs’ attitudes towards IPV was distributed between 20 August 2021 and 20 October 2021. Results Eighty-nine FPs participated in the study. Of the participants, 71.9% had a patient diagnosed with IPV during their practice. Of these physicians, 100% diagnosed physical, 56.3% sexual, 71.9% psychological, 53.1% economic, and 10.9% cyber violence. Among these physicians, sexual, psychological, and economic violence were determined at higher rates by family medicine specialists (FMSs) compared to general practitioners (GPs), by FPs who had received IPV training compared to those who were untrained, and by female physicians compared to males (P