ID-5184 Wonca Abstracts supplement A-K 13-10-23 - Flipbook - Page 228
WONCA 2023 Supplement 1: WONCA 2023 abstracts (A–K)
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Making it safe to talk about family violence in healthcare
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Dr Claire Gear1, Dr Eunice Kelly2, Ruth Brennan2
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AUT, 2Atawhai
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Family violence is a key determinant of ill-health that seriously impacts the health and wellbeing of
all family members. Yet this is often poorly recognised within health policy and practice, particularly
within primary care settings. Without adequate support, health professionals can often be unsure of
what to do, or how to help. Recent research has worked with primary care professionals in a series
of deliberative dialogue workshops to critically reflect on what is required to be responsive to family
violence and how it may be integrated into practice. Participants advocate for conversations about
family violence to be many shared moments in time between a primary care professional and careseeker, underpinned by honesty, truth and empathy. Primary care professionals do not have to ‘fix’
the problem but be someone care-seekers can trust to walk alongside supporting opportunities for
change. To generate practice change, participants identified four key system pathways and associated
tools that, when enabled, will make it easier to respond to family violence in practice. These include:
(1) establishing family violence as a key determinant of ill-health; (2) generating trusted relationships
between clinical and community service provision; (3) advocating for clinical and cultural supervision;
and (4) connecting to information and support. In this presentation, two participants share their
learning from the research and, drawing on case examples, how this has shaped their clinical practice.
Delegates will gain an understanding of the complexity and uncertainty involved in providing care for
families impacted by violence, including how small practice changes can lead to success stories.
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