Knowledge and Clinical Skills of Primary Care Physicians Toward Domestic Violence and Abuse in Jazan Region, Saudia Arabia

Abstract

Background: Domestic violence (DV) presents in a range of ways to family medicine clinics. Little is known about the current level of knowledge and clinical skills of family physicians in Saudi Arabia regarding the recognition and management of domestic violence cases. Method: The study is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based observational investigation using a random sampling scheme.  Results: (n = 335) doctors agreed to be included in the study. Poor women DV knowledge was found among (n = 125, 36.2%) doctors, particularly the inexperienced and non-Saudi. Only 40% of doctors reported DV training, mostly through medical school. Just 2% of doctors indicated wide use of DV protocols in their facility. Only 35% of doctors encountered an elderly abuse case, mostly neglect in 55% of cases. Only 36% of participants indicated enough training in child abuse. Conclusion: We confirmed, in consistence with global findings, that knowledge of domestic violence is suboptimum among Saudi family physicians, particularly elderly DV. Doctors who identified DV cases were few, likely due to under-recognition or time constraints. Targeted educational interventions improve family physicians’ subaverage DV management skills and awareness. Recommendations:  Domestic Violence protocols should be standardized across Saudi Arabia and adopted in all health facilities with necessary training provided using face-to-face lectures and practical demonstrations preferably.