Dying to know: The importance of strangulation inquiry in healthcare settings

Chadwick, Mardi

Saturday, March 21, 2015: 11:25 AM-12:45 PM

Room 8/9 (Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel)

Speakers:
Mardi Chadwick, JD, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Annie Lewis-O'Connor, PhD, NP, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hosptial and Harvard Medical School

PDF file PDF file

Presentation Format:
Innovative/Promising Practice Program Report

Learning Objectives:

Understand the importance of strangulation as a risk factor for future domestic violence homicide.
Identify strategies to raise awareness and educate healthcare staff on the importance of strangulation inquiry in DV cases.
Discuss the significance of intra-disciplinary efforts in identification and intervention of strangulation cases.

Description:
Research has proven strangulation in the context of domestic violence increases the likelihood of future homicide. Although many healthcare providers regularly screen for abuse, they do not inquire about strangulation. Understanding strangulation within this context will improve both the medical response to current strangulation cases, and help improve long term safety by providing opportunities for intervention before a lethal attack. Learn how one academic medical center changed its policy, culture and response to strangulation in five years.