Read discussion below. Describe how Floridas’ abuse-reporting requirements align or differ.
Discuss the educational resources identified in your peer’s posting and analyze the appropriateness of these resources for facilitating patient safety.
There are many reasons why a patient that is a victim of domestic violence isn’t forthcoming about abuse. “Victims feel that just one consultation with a professional was not enough to build the trust needed to disclose and that the brevity of appointments with their HCP limited opportunities for disclosure (Heron & Eisma, 2021). In addition, victims reported that they had difficulty disclosing due to a lack of privacy at their healthcare facility (Heron & Eisma, 2021). Other major barriers were victims’ fears that they would lose their children or that the abuse would escalate. Other reasons could be embarrassment of being in the situation or the belief that the abuser is going to change and will not do it again.
For nurses being a mandated reporter means that it is a nurse’s responsibility to report any suspicions of child or adult abuse or neglect. If the story just doesn’t fit, the nurse needs to be suspicious. If the child or adult suggest they have been abused, the nurse needs to report (Quan, 2019).
I have been a nurse for 16 years. There has been mandatory yearly, in service training on signs of abuse and reporting it. Educational resources in RI for nurses are found on-line. One useful site that I found information on domestic violence was the Crisis Prevention Institute. This website had a lot of valuable information about the signs of domestic abuse, and how to go about getting the patient to talk about it, this site also has options for training and interventions when abuse is suspected. Another website is IVP Health, this site had information about integrating health care and advocacy against domestic violence. There are other websites put out by the CDC, RIDOH, and WHO.
In our care center, there are a few pamphlets about abuse with hotline numbers that can be handed out. RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence is an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence. They provide a wide array of services for vitamins, including emergency shelter, support groups, counseling services and assistance with the legal system.
References:
Heron, R.L., & Eisma, M.C. (2021). Barriers and facilitators of disclosing domestic violence to the healthcare service: A systematic review of qualitative research. Health & Social Care in the Community. 29(3): 612-630. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8248429
Quan, K. (2019). Nurses are mandated reporters-Not a judge or Jury. https://www.nursingce.com/blog/nurses-are-mandated-reporters-not-a-judge-or-jury
