Emergency department response to domestic violence--California, 1992.

A 1993 national poll found that 34% of adults in the United States report having witnessed a man beating his wife or girlfriend and that 14% of women report that a husband or boyfriend has been violent with them (1). Studies suggest that as many as 30% of women treated in emergency departments (EDs) have injuries or symptoms related to physical abuse (2). A national health objective for the year 2000 is for at least 90% of hospital EDs to have protocols for routinely identifying, treating, and referring victims of sexual assault and spouse abuse (objective 7.12) (3). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has also recommended that accredited EDs have policies, procedures, and education in place to guide staff in the treatment of battered adults (4). To assess progress toward the national health objective for the year 2000 and the JCAHO standards, all active EDs in California were surveyed during November-December 1992 about their policies and practices for the treatment of battered adults. This report presents findings of this survey.