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Teri Randall

JAMA. 1991;266(9):1177-1179.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

POLICE OFFICERS say that responding to a call involving domestic assault is one of the most dangerous aspects of their work. For physicians, it is no less a challenge. Treating the injury lies comfortably within the realm of medicine, but addressing the injury's cause can feel like trespassing in another's territory.

Physicians have been criticized for not asking about the cause of a woman's injuries, even when it is clear that she was deliberately hurt by another person. But if physicians do choose to ask, and discover the patient is a victim of abuse, what can they offer her?

Many physicians lack an effective way to connect these women with services that could help. Simply giving her the telephone number of a crisis center is rarely sufficient—battered women are not likely to call these numbers unless they are also receiving ongoing, personal support of some kind. Many are afraid that . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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