The aim of this survey was to assess the primary care nurses' preparedness to identify and provide nursing care to women exposed to IPV.
A cross-sectional survey was carried out in all primary health care centers in rural communities in one county of southern Taiwan. This survey involved all available nurses (280) in these centers. The response rate was 94.6%. A self- administrative questionnaire was used for data collection.
The preparedness regarding IPV among nurses was weak. 10.2% of the nurses believed they were sufficiently prepared to deal with women exposed to IPV. 13.2% of the nurses have received education or training about dealing with IPV. The most frequently reported barriers to deal with battered women were lack of knowledge and skills about IPV.
These results suggest that an in-service training program need to be set up for nurses working in primary health care centers. This program would help the nurses prepare to intervene more effectively to promote the health of battered women.