Physical domestic violence trauma among women referred to the emergency department of imam khomeini hospital, urmia, iran

Domestic violence is the most common form of violence against women that has negative effects on the health of the mother, children, family, and society. This study aimed to evaluate the trauma caused by physical violence in women referred to the Emergency Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Urmia, Iran.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on women referred to the Emergency Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Urmia, Iran, with trauma in the First quarter of 2016. The patient files were used to collect the required data. Subsequently, the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 18) through the chi-square test (P<0.001)

In total, 1746 women with trauma were referred to the Emergency Department in the First quarter of 2016, 38 of whom reported physical domestic violence. The mean age of the women was 37.57±5.54 years; moreover, 16 (42.1%) cases had elementary education, and 20 (52.6%) women were urban dwellers. Regarding the marital status, 33(86.8%)women were married. Considering the relationship between trauma severity and demographic characteristics, only education level showed a correlation with trauma severity. In total 14 (36.8%) and 11 (29%) cases had mild and severe traumas, respectively. Furthermore, the most injured parts were the limbs (n=16; 42.1%).

The results showed a significant increase in the severity of trauma in women with lower education levels. Accordingly, improvements in the level of education may decrease the prevalence and severity of physical domestic violence, which requires appropriate planning to increase womenchr('39')s education level.