Domestic Violence Among Patients Attending Emergency Hospital

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Emergency Department Faculty of Medicine Mansoura University

2 Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

3 General Surgery Faculty of Medicine Mansoura University

4 Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Egypt

Abstract

Domestic violence remains a critical social and public health issue in Egypt, affecting countless individuals, predominantly women and children, across both urban and rural areas. The aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of domestic violence ‎among cases presented into the Mansoura University Emergency Hospital. This prospective clinical study included 62 cases presenting with domestic violence caused by a household member.Family and abuse history included details of family structure, history of family conflicts, prior exposure to abuse, and relationships with the aggressor. Injury severity was assessed using standardized tools to classify the extent and impact of injuries sustained due to domestic violence. Most of the participants were female (80.6%), mostly aged between 18 and 30 years (40.3%), married (71%) and living in rural places (64.5%), husbands were responsible for 69.4% of DV cases. About 81% of aggressors were substance abusers. About 60% of victims were unemployed. 15 patients had mild injuries without admission, 36 patients suffered moderate injuries with an average hospital stay of 3.5 weeks while severe injuries impacted 11 patients, with an average hospital stay of 4.5 weeks. Admission status revealed that 83.9% of participants were discharged, while 16.1% required hospital admission. Among admitted cases, 80% were placed in the ward, and 20% in the ICU. So, most domestic violence ‎cases involved middle aged, married women, with husbands identified as the ‎primary aggressors in most instances. Socioeconomic factors, particularly ‎low-income status, were strongly associated with DV risk, suggesting that ‎financial strain may heighten vulnerability to abuse.‎

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