[Domestic violence against women and health care demands. Results of a female emergency department patient survey].

Domestic violence (DV) is a serious risk for women's health. So far, little attention has been paid to this area in research and medical care in Germany. Acknowledging this deficit, the S.I.G.N.A.L.-Intervention Project has started to develop a program to improve the medical care for victimized women. For the first time in Germany, data on the health care needs of victimized women have been collected within the S.I.G.N.A.L.-Evaluation Research Project. This article presents the results of a female patient survey (n=806) on DV conducted in the emergency department (ED) of a university hospital in Berlin. The results demonstrate that 36.6% of women reported at least one episode of DV after the age of 16. A total of 4.6% were victims of DV over the past year, and 1.5% of women came to the ED for treatment of injuries caused by violence. A total of 57% of the victims of at least one episode of DV in their lifetime after the age of 16 described a negative impact on their health. The most frequently reported sequelae were head injuries, haematomas and fractures, gastrointestinal disorders, headache/migraine and heart disease. The psychological symptoms were anxiety, depression and suicide/self-mutilation attempts. Some 52% of the victims who reported health consequences had received medical care. In case of DV occurring, 67% of all women said that they would discuss it with their physicians. Approximately 80% of all respondents favoured a routine inquiry for DV as part of the medical history protocol of the ED.