Readiness of nursing students to screen women for domestic violence.

BACKGROUND: Although domestic violence against women is common in Israel and elsewhere, and though medical staff in Israel have a universal obligation to screen women for domestic violence, actual screening rates remain low.

OBJECTIVES: To examine which variables affect nursing students' intention to screen women for domestic violence when providing treatment, and whether the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) developed by Ajzen (1991) predicts this intention.

DESIGN: This study is a quantitative cross sectional study.

SETTINGS: A large academic nursing school in central Israel.

PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 200 nursing students who had completed at least one year of studies took part in the study.

METHODS: Students completed a questionnaire based on the TPB.

RESULTS: Nursing students showed high intention to screen women for domestic violence when providing treatment. Normative beliefs, subjective norms, behavioral beliefs, perceived control, and knowledge were found to affect students' intention to screen women for domestic violence. The opinion of the clinical instructor was most significant for students.

CONCLUSIONS: The theoretical model predicted 32% of students' intention to screen women for domestic violence, with normative beliefs being the most significant variable.