ABSTRACT
This is a qualitative exploratory case design to understand how medical practitioners inquire about domestic violence among women who present for medical care in hospitals in Ghana. This case study was guided by three conceptual frameworks namely social constructionism (participants' reality), ecological framework (institutional and cultural factors), and public health framework (preventive). Six (3 females and 3 males) medical practitioners who provide direct medical care in urban regional hospitals of Ghana were purposively selected to participate in virtual interviews due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Participants were asked a total of thirty-two questions to identify domestic violence inquiry practices with women, attitudes, and perceptions towards DV inquiry, barriers of DV inquiry, and provider level of knowledge of DV Act 732 Ghana and DV training. Interview transcripts were organized using NVivo to create initial codes and themes respectively. Emergent findings indicated that medical practitioners do not routinely ask women for domestic violence experiences when they do not present with an initial diagnosis of some injury related to DV although they believe DV inquiry is necessary to provide holistic and trauma-informed care to women. DV inquiry is related to factors such as non-existing protocols in hospitals, cultural and logistical challenges that impede inquiry efforts, and victim self-disclosure. Based on the findings of this study, some implications for the health care sector in Ghana such as the Ministry of Health and service were outlined. The study addressed the gap in the literature by focusing on response to DV in Ghanaian government health care settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)