Zidianakis Zacharias
The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the level of knowledge and the perceptions of health professionals working in primary and in secondary care units in Crete, Greece, with regard to the phenomenon of domestic violence and to detect their attitudes towards women who had been victims of domestic violence. Material Method:Descriptive survey was conducted with the use of a self-administered questionnaire. The sample of this survey consisted of 129 health professionals in primary and 355 health professionals in secondary care from all four prefectures of Crete. Measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion (average value, standard deviation, range) were implemented for continuous variables, while discrete variables and clustered data were expressed as percentages. Results:The data analysis proved that a small number of health professionals has had a course in their formal studies or participated in a seminar related to domestic violence (9.1%). The psychological impact on the victims as well as on the family of the victim was judged to be amongst the most important issues associated with domestic violence (4.86±0,4 and 4.64±0,7 for primary and secondary care health professionals). Conclusions:Health professionals working in both primary and secondary health care identified domestic violence as a major contributor towards the psychological well-being of both the victim and her family. Furthermore, they identified the lack of education, resources and infrastructure as the key barriers to the doctors’ involvement in such cases as well as the fear on the part of the victim for reprisal by her partner.
