Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Associated Factors in the Care of Women Subjected to Intimate Partner Violence in the Western Province of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a preventable public health problem. Previous studies in Sri Lanka report high prevalence rates of IPV. Nurses as the largest healthcare force can take on a significant role in the care of women subjected to IPV. This study aimed to describe nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and practices related to providing care for women subjected to IPV in the Sri Lankan context. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 407 female nurses from 17 hospitals in the Western Province, using a stratified random sampling strategy. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used. Most (85%) participants had poor overall knowledge related to IPV. Higher knowledge scores were found for: acts indicating IPV (80±28.2), health problems related to IPV (74.6±24.4), and reasons preventing disclosure (81.4±19.6). Knowledge scores were low for root causes of IPV (49.7±19.0), laws pertaining to IPV (31.0±25.9), and the available services (19.1±25.07). Good overall attitudes were evident among 54%, specifically, in the areas of inquiring about IPV (91%), offering the assistance (79.8%), and maintaining confidentiality (57%). Most (86.5%) had met women subjected to IPV, and the most frequent (52.3%) action they had taken was to inform a doctor. Higher levels of education, in-service learning, and learning about IPV in basic nursing education, were positively associated with knowledge and attitude levels. The results call for an urgent need for inclusion of IPV related content and skills-training in nursing curricula to enable nurses to identify, support, and provide care to women subjected to IPV.

Keywords

• intimate partner violence
• nurses
• knowledge
• attitudes
• sri lanka