RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Medical practitioners are ideally positioned to mitigate the impact of gender based violence (GBV) on the health of victims. However, there is a lack of information on students' ability and willingness to do so. OBJECTIVE: To identify factors which impact on students' attainment of the knowledge and perceived ability to manage victims. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 388 (91.5%) final year medical students from three medical schools in South West, Nigeria. RESULTS: Students were knowledgeable on sexual (63.7%) and physical (54.6%) forms of GBV and unfamiliar with other forms. The mean scores for knowledge (7.1 ± 2.5 out of 11); attitude (52.6 ± 10.3 out of 80); personal comfort (44.1 ± 10.0 out of 65) and skills (3.1 ± 2.6 out of 7) were calculated. Younger respondents, females and married students reported less skill to manage victims. The location of school, previous training and personal comfort remained significant determinants of students' self reported skills on GBV. Respondents with prior training on GBV and comfortable with managing patients, were four times more likely to perceive they were more skilled than their peers [AOR = 4.33, 95% CI: 2.37 - 7.90 and AOR 3.53; 95% CI 2.16-5.78 respectively]. CONCLUSION: Formalised skills training on GBV is a necessity, especially for young, female students and training cannot be left to serendipity. The medical curriculum should be reviewed.
Asunto(s)
Violencia de Género , Conocimientos, Actitudes y Práctica en Salud , Estudiantes de Medicina/psicología , Estudios Transversales , Curriculum , Educación de Pregrado en Medicina , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Nigeria , Percepción , Facultades de Medicina , Estudiantes de Medicina/estadística & datos numéricos , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Routine IPV screening is a controversial topic and there is no evidence to suggest that it improves the health outcomes of women. Consequently, understanding the socio-cultural dimensions, becomes essential to ensure that victims receive appropriate and local support. This study was conducted to gather the perceptions of victims of IPV on the relevance of raising the topic at health care facilities and to determine specific categories of women to target for screening by medical personnel. It also explored how the information gathered could support victims and whether medical students should be trained on issues relating to IPV. METHODS: Thirty-three key informant interviews were conducted among women attending clinics from three teaching hospitals in the Lagos, Oyo and Osun States of South West Nigeria. The hospitals offer antenatal, emergency, primary care and community outreach clinics which are well-attended by women. A six-item questionnaire assessed eligibility for participation in the study and participants were then purposively sampled. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured guide. Ethical approval and gatekeepers' permissions were obtained, and each participant signed informed consent. Data was collected between June and November 2017. The data was entered into Excel and analysed deductively to answer each objective. RESULTS: Most (n = 24) participants stated that medical practitioners should ask all women who present to health care facilities, about their experiences of IPV. Physically, medically and socially vulnerable women, including those in relationships with men in risky occupations, were identified as needing special attention and possible follow-up. They supported the use of the information within and outside of the health care facility, depending on the need of the woman. The majority (n = 24) indicated a need to train medical students about IPV and 19 participants suggested for the topic to be curriculated. Most victims favoured the inclusion of a multidisciplinary team in teaching medical students about IPV. CONCLUSIONS: Victims of IPV were in support of initiatives to discuss the topic among some groups of female patients in health care settings. They thought it would enhance the quality of care (medical, psychological, legal and social) to victims. They identified an inter-professional team of stakeholders to include when training medical students about IPV.