Domestic Violence Teaching In Uk Medical Schools: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundDomestic violence and abuse (DVA) is a leading contributor to the physical and mental ill health of women. Recent international guidance recommends that undergraduate medical curricula should includeDVA. We do not know whatis currently taught about DVA to medical students in the UK. Recent international guidance recommends that undergraduate medical curricula should include DVAMethodTeaching leads from all UK medical schools (n=34) were invited to participate in an 18-item online survey about what DVA education is provided, their views of this provision and any feedback provided by students. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data.ResultsA total of 25 out of 34 medical schools participated in the survey (74%). All respondents felt that there should be formal teaching on DVA in the medical curriculum. Eighty-fourpercent of respondents reported that there was some formal teaching in their medical school, and 90% of these reported that it was mandatory. Of those who delivered some teaching, 52% reported that the provision was 0-2hours in total. Most commonly content was delivered in year4. DVA teaching was delivered in different modules, by different methods and delivered by a range of different providers. Seventy-fivepercent of respondents reported that they felt the provision at their medical school was inadequate or not enough. Barriers to providing DVA education identified included time constraints, failure to perceive it as a medical problem and the assumption that it will be covered elsewhere.ConclusionMost medical students in the UK receive a small amount of teaching on DVA towards the end of the curriculum. This is perceived as inadequate.