Domestic violence affects a third of women worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In many cases nobody knows of the suffering, and victims aren't able to get help in time.
That's why in many countries, including the U.S., there's been a push to make screening for domestic violence a routine part of doctor visits. Last year, the influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that clinicians ask all women of childbearing age whether they're being abused.
These days, after your doctor asks you whether you're allergic to any medication, or whether you smoke, she might also ask whether you feel safe with your partner.
But an analysis published Monday in BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal, suggests such generalized screenings may not be helping much. A review of 11 studies involving 13,027 women in wealthy countries found that screening questions did help doctors identify more than twice as many patients who were suffering from abuse. But routine screenings didn't necessarily help those women get the follow-up support they needed, researchers found.
"The emphasis on how to identify victims distracts attention from the real issues," says Dr. Gene Feder, a professor of primary care medicine at the University of Bristol, and one of the researchers behind the review. Instead, the medical community should be focusing on providing known victims with proper support, Feder tells Shots.
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