Intimate partner violence is a common problem that is known to have serious and long-term effects on health across a lifetime. While community nurses are placed to deal with intimate partner violence, some may be unsure of what to do. They may fear getting things wrong or making the situation worse. Additionally, intimate partner violence is often difficult to identify because it tends to be a hidden issue. This article aims to increase community nurses’ confidence in dealing with intimate partner violence. It describes the different forms of intimate partner violence as well as the associated risks and consequences. The community nurse’s role in recognising and responding to intimate partner violence is discussed and we provide practical guidance on how to deal with the issue confidently to preserve patient safety.
Primary Health Care. doi: 10.7748/phc.2016.e1184
Correspondencec.bradbury-jones@bham.ac.uk ClarkMT@adf.bham.ac.uk
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Received: 01 July 2016
Accepted: 06 September 2016
Published online: 20 October 2016
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