Health e-News

Domestic Violence Health Initiative (DVHI) Listserv is Now Health e-News!

FEBRUARY 2005

In this issue...

Announcements

Events

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FVPF’s New Palm-based Intimate Partner Violence Assessment Tool for Health Care Providers

In an effort to reach health practitioners and professional health students who rely on Palm-based electronic tools for quick reference, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, in collaboration with Denise Bilbao, MD and Leigh Kimberg, MD, recently created a new assessment tool for domestic violence. The tool includes tips on how to conduct inquiry, assessment, intervention, documentation, and follow-up for domestic violence, along with facts and web links. The Palm ready tool is available in two formats – for either the iSilo or Documents to Go text readers.

The iSilo version allows you to link freely within the document as you would on a website, while the Documents to Go version resembles a more static Word document. The Documents to Go reader comes bundled with most palm operating systems, whereas the iSilo reader (widely used) is available for free online.

To download the tool, Click Here. For more information, contact Anna Marjavi at 415-252-8900, x22 or email anna@endabuse.org.

FVPF’s New Folios on Intimate Partner Violence Assessment for Health Care Professionals

The Family Violence Prevention Fund has released three new information folios for health care providers. The new General Information, Dental and Nursing folios serve as excellent introductory and informative tools that can be handed out at trainings and conferences to encourage and help health care providers to address domestic violence as a health care issue.

The General Information folio entitled Improving the Healthcare Response to Domestic Violence: An Information Packet for Health Care Providers is edited by Pat Salber, MD, MBA (former Executive Director of Physicians for a Violence-free Society). To view the folio online or download a copy, Click Here.

The Dental folio entitled Enhancing Dental Professionals’ Response to Domestic Violence is one of the first specialized tools to enhance dental professionals’ response to domestic violence. This folio was created with editorial support from the American Dental Association (ADA), California Dental Association (CDA) Foundation, Dental Professionals Against Violence (DPAV) and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. To view the folio online or download a copy, Click Here.

The Nursing folio entitled A Call to Action: The Nursing Role in Routine Assessment for Intimate Partner Violence outlines the nurse’s role in routine assessment for intimate partner violence (IPV). This folio was created with editorial support from nursing scholars Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN and Annie Lewis-O’Connor RNCS, PhD, MPH and in partnership with leading nursing organizations, namely, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women, International (NNVAWI). To view the folio online or download a copy, Click Here.

Each of the six-page folios feature a fact sheet, national resource list, action steps to get involved, a pocket card with assessment tips, and summaries on JCAHO standard PC.3.10, mandatory reporting and privacy issues with corresponding web links for more information. The folios are available in quantities up to 50 via the FVPF’s online Technical Assistance Form. To receive this item in larger quantities, call 1-888-RX-ABUSE (toll-free line); TTY 1-800-595-4889.

FVPF’s New Email Listserv for Professional Health Students and Faculty

The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) announces a new national email listserv and discussion forum for professional health students and faculty in schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work, and public health around the country who are interested in violence prevention and education.

The goal of this listserv is to create a space where professional health students and faculty can share ideas on school and community projects as well as connect with national specialists in the area of violence research and prevention. Monthly mailings in the listserv will highlight student-led projects, funding sources, and upcoming conferences. The listserv will also allow subscribers to gain access to complimentary DV awareness publications and handouts to use in outreach projects, collect and distribute model domestic violence and sexual assault strategies that have worked at different schools.

To subscribe to the listserv, please send your full name, current email address, university and department/school affiliation, and phone number to the listserv moderator at arunavenk@gmail.com.

Announcing the New Academy on Violence and Abuse

The Academy on Violence and Abuse (AVA) was recently created to advance research and education in the field of violence and abuse, and to improve the capacity of physicians and other health professionals to incorporate these issues into the routine care of all patients. This includes identification, understanding of health impact, management and prevention of violence and abuse.

AVA intends to improve the infrastructure necessary to ingrain and infuse violence prevention into the core medical curriculum. This includes publishing medical textbooks on violence and abuse, consideration for a medical journal on issues in violence and abuse, faculty development concerns, residency requirements, etc. AVA expects to establish a new academic discipline and to promote and develop fellowships in this field.

The AVA also invites donations of any amount. For donations, contact the Academy on Violence and Abuse Project, Ridgeview Foundation, 125 West Main Street, Waconia, MN 55387.

For more information please contact David McCollum, MD at md4peace@earthlink.net.

Online Resource Guide on Human Trafficking for Health Care Providers

Health care providers can get now get information about the issue of human trafficking and resources to help identify and assist victims of human trafficking in the United States. The resource guide for health workers has been developed as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) campaign to Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), the HHS is designated as the agency responsible for helping victims of human trafficking become eligible to receive benefits and services so they may rebuild their lives safely in the United States.

The resource guide for health care providers, available on the campaign to Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking website, contains tools developed to provide background information and guidance for health care practitioners in identifying and communicating with victims of human trafficking. The tools include:

  • Tips for identifying and helping trafficking victims

  • Screening questions to assess whether a person is a trafficking victim

  • Understanding the mindset of a human trafficking victim

  • Communicating with victims of human trafficking

  • Health problems seen in trafficking victims

  • PowerPoint presentation for health care providers

To download the tool kit and for more information, Click Here.

Online Domestic Violence Education Program for Physicians on Virtual Lecture Hall

Medical Directions, Inc. (MDI) has launched of an online continuing medical education (CME) program to help physicians better address patients who are experiencing intimate partner violence. The program entitled Responding to Intimate Partner Violence was developed under a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and is available at MDI’s online education site, The Virtual Lecture Hall (VLH). The online program was developed under the leadership of Dr. Zita Surprenant, a nationally recognized expert from Kansas University.

The CME program includes 17 interactive case studies, downloadable handouts and forms physicians can use in their practices, "just-in-time" information, audio and video presentations, and a database of state reporting requirements for intimate partner violence. The program is customizable and can also be used by residency programs, hospitals, medical clinics, and HMOs to train their medical staff to better manage the complications of partner violence.

Physicians and other health professionals can purchase an annual VLH membership plan for $30 to access the online program. For more information, Click Here or call 520-722-1970.

Training Program on Family Violence Intervention for Dental Professionals

The University of Minnesota’s School of Dentistry and the Program Against Sexual Violence (now called the Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education) have developed a training program for dental professionals entitled Family Violence: An Intervention Model for Dental Professionals. The training program, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, makes a connection between dentistry and family violence intervention.

The training addresses topics such as definition and dynamics of family violence, recognizing the symptoms and patterns of abuse, understanding the impact of abuse on victims, intervention skills and techniques, creating a safe environment, community resources, and ethical and responsibilities of dental professionals.

For more information about the training program, Click Here or contact the OVC’s Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) at 1-866-682-8822; TTY: 1-866-682-8880. For training materials or additional information, contact Jamie C. Tiedmann, MS at 612-626-9988 or email tiede001@umn.edu.

EVENTS

2005 National Injury Prevention and Control Conference

The 2005 National Injury Prevention and Control Conference entitled Injury and Violence in America: Meeting Challenges, Sharing Solutions: An Interdisciplinary Conference for the Injury and Violence Prevention and Control Communities will be held on May 9-11, 2005 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Denver, Colorado.

The conference is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), National Association of Injury Control Research Centers (NAICRC) and the State & Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association (STIPDA).

The goals of this conference are to:

  • Highlight interdisciplinary research and solutions

  • Provide participants an opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge, leaving each person with new tools to implement where they work

  • Foster cross-fertilization and mobilization

  • Create an opportunity for participants to discuss the future of injury and violence prevention and control in America

  • Health impact and strategies to respond to children and adolescents exposed

  • Survivors perspectives on health care responses to family violence

For registration or more information, call 770-690-9000 (Registration) or 770-488-4298 (General Information) or Click Here.

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Health e-News is a monthly electronic news digest focusing on health care and domestic violence policy, research, prevention and advocacy. Health e-News is available in both text and html formats. To subscribe Click Here.

We encourage you to use Health e-News to share news, views, and experiences concerning your projects and activities on addressing domestic violence as a health care issue. To post an announcement or ask a question, send an e-mail to HealthE-News@endabuse.org. The digest is monitored by Vibhuti Mehra, Senior Program Assistant with the Family Violence Prevention Fund.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to end domestic violence!

Be sure to visit our website http://endabuse.org/health to learn more about our programs, products, and campaigns!

This publication is funded in part by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau.