Use of emergency department services by women victims of violence in Lazio region, Italy

BACKGROUND Violence against women is a significant health problem and a hidden phenomenon, in Italy that about 31% of the women have been victims of violence once in life. Aims of this study are to describe characteristics of women victims of violence (VV) attending the EDs in the Lazio region in 2008 and to illustrate the frequency and characteristics of previous ED visits. METHODS Using the Emergency Information System, visits of women, (15-49 years), in the 60 EDs, for a violent trauma have been analysed. For each VV identified, we considered the last episode and searched for ED attendances in a six year period (2003-08) in order to identify other visits. We performed descriptive analyses of socio-demographic and clinical factors of VV and we analyzed the impact previous ED visits. We compared ED utilization of women VV with a random sample of women with the same age distribution who gave birth in 2008. RESULTS In 2008, 7,725 ED attendances of women VV were found (1.1% of the ED visits) corresponding to 6,936 women (prevalence = 52.0x10,000). The mean number of ED visits for each woman in five years was 5.0 (1-190). Prevalent diagnoses were contusions (45.8%), neurotic disorders (5.4%) complications of medical care (6.3%). The women were young, approximately 70% were residents in Rome or the surrounding areas. Foreign women were three times more likely to visit the ED for intentional injuries than were Italian women (114.1 vs 44.4 per 10.000). CONCLUSIONS This study shows high prevalence of violence against women in Lazio region, Italy. Most of the women have been visited by the ED several times before the violent episode, often with traumas. ED medical and nursing staff should be prepared and trained to successfully manage victims of violence.