15 Obstacles Emergency Rooms Face in Identifying Abuse

  1. Patient doesn’t want to talk about the abuse

  2. Patient is under the influence of drugs/alcohol

  3. Patient fears repercussions

  4. Staff not trained to interview victims of abuse

  5. Staff frustrated to screen by how little they can do to help

  6. Language barriers

  7. Questions about abuse may feel too confrontational

  8. Patient denies abuse as a cause of injury

  9. Staff not trained to identify abuse as a cause of injury

  10. Primarily concerned about treating injury/complaint

  11. Patient lacks privacy

  12. Lack of resources to assist victims

  13. Belief that abuse is a private family issue

  14. Identifying support agencies is time consuming

  15. Fear the implications of mandatory reporting