Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Home Visitors in Public Health Centers toward Wife Abuse

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study investigated knowledge and attitude of home visitors in public health centers toward wife abuse and the actual status of how they were detecting wife abuse and providing interventions. METHOD: Data were collected using questionnaires from October 2003 to December 2004. The subjects were 403 home visitors at Public Health Centers around Korea. The data were analyzed using SPSS program. RESULTS: The correction rate of knowledge related to wife abuse was 51.9%. The mean score of attitude toward wife abuse was 3.09 (SD=.40) out of 4, showing that their attitude is right. There was a significant difference in attitude according to age (F=3.27, p=.008). One hundred twenty six visitors (31.3%) detected wife abuses and each visitor confirmed 2.3 cases on the average. Forty eight respondents (38.1%) answered that they had provided interventions. CONCLUSION: This result implies that health visitors have difficulties in detecting wife abuse, and even for identified cases, the rate of providing interventions was low. It was because health visitors' educational experience in wife abuse is insufficient and they do not regard this work as their duty. These findings suggest the necessity for developing nursing in-service programs teaching health visitors their duties and knowledge related to wife abuse.