Since 2000, hospitals have been implementing a national program aimed at increasing the rate of identifying victims of domestic violence by hospital staff and providing primary care by introducing them to specially trained social workers. The social workers discuss the women’s situation with them, assess the level of danger, support their motivation to change the situation, and give them information about their rights and the services available. Where possible, the social workers and the women themselves draw up a post-discharge plan for further care in the community.
About two weeks after their discharge from the hospitals, the women are contacted by the social workers to find out whether they are following the plan and whether they need help implementing it.
The Ministry of Health asked the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute to contact these women directly to ascertain their perceptions of the hospital intervention in general and, in particular, the follow-up discussion with the social workers.
Interviews were conducted in 2004–2005 with 151 women who had suffered violence at the hands of their spouses or partners and had been identified and treated at general hospitals in Israel, had been seen by a social worker during their stay in hospital, and who agreed to participate in the study.
The study is unique in that it is the first to present the women’s perspective regarding the treatment and care provided in the hospital.
It is clear from the reports of the women interviewed that the program to identify and care for victims of domestic violence in the hospitals makes a significant contribution to the women’s wellbeing. It was also revealed that the discussion with the social workers following the victims’ discharge from hospital constitutes an important element that helps about half of the women to continue with the post-discharge plan, which consists primarily of maintaining contact with the services in the community.
Nevertheless, the findings indicate that there is room for improvement so that the program responds better to the women’s needs, since between a third and half of them did not report a high level of satisfaction with several aspects of the care. Furthermore, the findings indicate that women from differing cultural backgrounds respond in different ways, e.g., Arab women made less use of the information they received than the Jewish women did. It may therefore be appropriate to consider adjusting the program to meet the particular needs of women from differing population groups.