Meta-Analysis of domestic and family violence against health professionals has just been published

The study, titled Healthcare Professionals’ Own Experiences of Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Meta-Analysis of Prevalence and Systematic Review of Risk Markers and Consequences, builds on a body of work that Liz McLindon, with Kelsey Hegarty and Cathy Humphreys have been developing about the implications for health professionals when they are the survivor of domestic and family violence (DFV).

This meta-analysis, co-authored by Liz McLindon, found that across 51 studies there was a pooled lifetime DFV prevalence against health professionals of 31.3%, while 12-month prevalence was 10.4%. Lifetime prevalence significantly differed based on gender and location, with women health professionals and those living in low-middle income countries facing higher prevalence.

Risk factors associated with DFV against health professionals were consistent with those in the general population, but the unique professional role of health professionals posed additional and unique risks and vulnerabilities. Importantly, the study supported previous findings from a 2020 study by Liz McLindon, Kelsey Hegarty and Cathy Humphreys which indicated that survivor health professionals were more likely than their non-abused peers to identify and respond to DFV among their patients.

Across the studies, survivor health professionals reported impacts of trauma that included being unable to work to their full ability and feeling distressed when caring for survivor patients. Further, health professionals who had experienced DFV appeared to face additional barriers to accessing support, raising implications for how healthcare workplaces plan for and respond to their DFV survivor employees.

Read the full open-access paper here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15248380211061771