Factors influencing intimate partner violence screening by rural Texas emergency room nurses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent and concerning health issue with associated poor health outcomes. The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if attitudes (intrapersonal & social) and emergency room practice (environmental) factors influence screening for IPV by rural emergency room (ER) registered nurses (RN) and Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN). Limited research exists about factors influencing IPV screening in rural nurses. An anonymous cross-sectional survey design was utilized to administer the Health Care Provider Survey (HCPS) of IPV Attitudes and Practices and the subscale Domestic Chores Domestic Life Domain (DCDLD) from the Gender Equitable Male (GEM) scale via a survey link to Psychdata. One hundred and five rural emergency room nurses in Texas participated. The data analysis included a descriptive analysis of the variables using means, standard deviations, and ranges of scores for the continuous variables of preparedness, self-confidence, professional supports, abuse inquiry, nurse consequences for asking, comfort following disclosure, nurse lack of control, and nurse practice pressures. Multiple linear regression was used to predict the relationship of social, environmental, and geographical influences with rural nurse IPV screening. In this study the hypothesized independent variable, Age Group was determined to be a statistically significant predictor of Professional Support. The Highest Degree Earned was a significant predictor of scores for Preparedness, Self-confidence, Comfort Following Disclosure, and Practice Pressures. The Type of Nurse significantly predicted scores for Preparedness, Self-confidence, and Comfort Following Disclosure. The Type of ER was a significant predictor of Comfort Following Disclosure and Professional Support. Experience with Abuse Disclosures significantly predicted scores for Preparedness, and Formal Training about IPV significantly predicted scores for Preparedness, Self-confidence, Practitioner lack of control, Comfort Following Disclosure, Professional Support, and Practice Pressures. Thus, this study provided valuable insight as to where health education needs to be focused and the barriers rural Texas ER nurses encounter.