Biomaterial Database

Victims of violence and the general practitioner. 1998

G Mezey, and M King, and T MacClintock

Section of Forensic Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, London.

BACKGROUND Violent crime is on the increase in Britain, with 17% of the 15 million incidents of crime reported in 1991 being of a violent nature. Although there is some information on the role of accident and emergency departments for victims who sustain physical injury, little is known about the role of the general practitioner (GP) in managing the acute and longer-term sequelae of violence. OBJECTIVE To examine the links between experiencing physical of sexual assault and seeking help from GPs in London. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of all adult attendees in one large group practice was carried out. The main outcome measures were prevalence of assault, reporting to the doctor and other people, and scores on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Impact of Events scale. RESULTS Of the 195 people who took part, 33 (17%) reported a physical or sexual assault in the previous year. Women were three times more likely than men to report any type of assault. Women rarely spontaneously disclosed these experiences to the GP and yet the experience of violence was associated with higher levels of distress, as measured on the GHQ and the Impact of Events Scale. CONCLUSIONS Assault is a relatively common event in the lives of people who consult their GP. Doctors could help these patients through gaining an awareness of the problem and by fostering links with voluntary services, such as victim support schemes, which can provide support, practical assistance, and advice on compensation claims and legal procedures.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D010817	Physician-Patient Relations	The interactions between physician and patient.	Doctor-Patient Relations,Doctor Patient Relations,Physician Patient Relations,Physician Patient Relationship,Doctor Patient Relation,Doctor-Patient Relation,Physician Patient Relation,Physician Patient Relationships,Physician-Patient Relation,Relation, Doctor Patient,Relation, Doctor-Patient,Relation, Physician Patient,Relation, Physician-Patient,Relations, Doctor Patient,Relations, Doctor-Patient,Relations, Physician Patient,Relations, Physician-Patient,Relationship, Physician Patient,Relationships, Physician Patient
D003430	Cross-Sectional Studies	Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.	Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005194	Family Practice	A medical specialty concerned with the provision of continuing, comprehensive primary health care for the entire family.	Family Practices,Practice, Family,Practices, Family
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D013313	Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic	A class of traumatic stress disorders with symptoms that last more than one month.	Moral Injury,Neuroses, Post-Traumatic,PTSD,Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders,Acute Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Delayed Onset Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Neuroses, Posttraumatic,Posttraumatic Stress Disorders,Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic,Stress Disorders, Posttraumatic,Acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Delayed Onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Injury, Moral,Moral Injuries,Neuroses, Post Traumatic,Post Traumatic Stress Disorders,Post-Traumatic Neuroses,Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Posttraumatic Neuroses,Posttraumatic Stress Disorder,Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic,Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic
D014754	Violence	Use of physical force causing or intent to cause harm, injury or abuse.	Assaultive Behavior,Atrocities,Behavior, Assaultive,Interpersonal Violence,Physical Assault,Physical Attacks,Structural Violence,Violent Crime,Assault, Physical,Attack, Physical,Attacks, Physical,Crime, Violent,Interpersonal Violences,Physical Assaults,Physical Attack,Violence, Interpersonal,Violence, Structural,Violent Crimes
D019548	Crime Victims	Individuals subjected to and adversely affected by criminal activity. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Victimization,Crime Victim,Victim, Crime,Victims, Crime