Domestic violence awareness and prevalence in a first-year medical school class

Objective: To determine knowledge about domestic violence (DV), the effectiveness of formal instruction about DV, and the prevalence of DV in a first-year medical school class. Methods: A general-knowledge survey of DV was given before and approximately 1 month after 3 hours of instruction provided by emergency medicine and internal medicine faculty. A previously validated scale, the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), was offered to determine baseline levels of DV within the group. Differences in first-year medical student knowledge of facts about DV and differences in responses by men vs women were determined before and after the instruction. Results: In the pre-instruction series, 144 of 148 (97%) participated, After the instruction, 141 of the same 148 students participated (95%). The prevalence of DV against women was correctly identified by 45% of the students as "15-30%" prior to instruction, and 65% after instruction. The prevalence of DV against males was correctly identified as "0-15%" by 48% of the students prior to instruction, and 70% after instruction. Before instruction, 29% of the students knew that "DV rates are equal in different socioeconomic groups," vs 72% after instruction. Similarly, prior to instruction 58% of the students knew that the victim is not responsible for the abuse, and 84% knew this after instruction. Before instruction 14 (10%) of the students believed they were victims of DV in the past, representing 7% of the men and 13% of the women. Before instruction neither group believed they were present victims of DV. However, according to ISA scoring, 6% of the women were positive for violence in the past, and approximately 5% were positive for present violence. No men were positive for ISA-determined past or present violence. Conclusion: Improvement in awareness was demonstrated after 3 hours of instruction in a first-year medical school class. There was DV among female medical students in this first-year class and self-reporting was not reliable. These results support instruction on DV for medical students.