The role of the emergency physician in the prevention of domestic violence.

In the United States, every 7.4 seconds a woman is battered by her husband. Of women who present to emergency departments with traumatic injuries, 16% to 30% report that their injuries were secondary to domestic violence. Not infrequently, battered women's medical and surgical problems are treated by ED staff and the women are released without any intervention directed toward the prevention of future battering and/or injury. Protocols are presented that require only minimal reorganization of staffing in EDs to provide essential services directed toward battered women's most serious health problem, chronic victimization.