Implicación de los profesionales de la salud en los casos de violencia en la pareja contra la mujer: La influencia de las actitudes sexistas hacia la mujer

Abstract

RESUMEN: Los profesionales sanitarios encuentran serias dificultades para identificar los casos de violencia en la pareja (IPV) contra la mujer. Las actitudes sexistas hacia la mujer y bajo nivel formativo en materia de IPV, pueden obstaculizan el abordaje de los casos de maltrato en los Servicios de Salud. Nuestro objetivo es analizar la relación entre actitudes sexistas y la implicación de los profesionales de la salud en los casos de IPV, así como el potencial efecto mediador de las horas de formación. Participaron 590 profesionales del Servicio de Salud del Principado de Asturias (España). Los resultados mostraron que ambos tipos de sexismo,-hostil y benevolente-, ejercen su influencia en la implicación en los casos de IPV. El sexismo hostil se relaciona con menores tasas de implicación, sin que las horas de formación medien esta relación. También mayores niveles de sexismo benevolente se relacionan con menores tasas de implicación, pero sólo mediado a través de las horas de formación. PALABRAS CAVE: Sexismo hostil, Sexismo benevolente, Violencia en la pareja, Profesionales sanitarios, Implicación Health professionals´ involvement in cases of partner violence against women: The influence of sexist attitudes toward women ABSTRACT: Health professionals find it difficult to identify cases of partner violence (IPV) against women. Sexist attitudes toward women and low formation level on IPV can hinder the intervention on cases of IPV in Health Services. Our objective is to analyze the relationship between sexist attitudes and the implication of health professionals on IPV cases, as well as the potential mediating effect of training hours. 590 professionals from the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (Spain) participated. The results showed that both types of sexism, hostile and benevolent, exert their influence on the involvement in cases of IPV. Hostile sexism is related to lower rates of involvement, without mediational effect of the hours of training. Higher levels of benevolent sexism are also related to lower rates of involvement, but only mediated by the hours of training.

Sexist Myths Emergency Healthcare Professionals and Factors Associated with the Detection of Intimate Partner Violence in Women

“…The causal models designed in this study to determine the mediating role of favourable opinions about certain sexist myths, mainly those showing women or alcohol/drugs abuse responsible for IPV in case detection, contributed results that suggest said associations, regardless of the remaining variables. Noriega et al found a direct correlation between sexist attitudes and a lower detection of IPV cases in a larger sample of professionals pertaining to different healthcare departments by employing an online survey with greater reliability than ours (Cronbach's alpha = 0.85) [54]. Likewise, our indicia are consistent with the results from previous studies reporting said relationships [31,71].…”

“…However, having real knowledge on the causes of IPV in our participants did not improve the result. That is why this study is in line with those that assert that a change of attitude (greater implications) does not depend exclusively on information or training, but rather, although they are necessary, they are not enough to face the complexity of such a phenomenon [17,54].…”

“…Having received basic training on IPV and having read the protocol available suggest an increase in detection, as previously documented [54,61,72]. However, having real knowledge on the causes of IPV in our participants did not improve the result.…”

“…The last macrosurvey published in Spain recently, performed in a sample of 9568 women older than 16 years, reported that, among those who had or had had an intimate relationship with a man throughout their lives, 32.4% had experienced some type of violence [62]. Such a finding shows that the rates of implication by healthcare professionals seem to increase progressively, getting closer and closer to the actual prevalence [54]. However, although said figure is higher than the one reported in emergency departments by other researchers [15,24,29], it is still far from the estimated 54% of women who suffer IPV and attend an emergency department [15].…”

“…That is why they constitute a privileged attention unit, not only to treat any possible injuries, but also to actually help victims minimise their exposure to abuse, or even to get out of such situation [15,35]. However, the efficacy of emergency services in the detection of IPV cases, particularly during the current health crisis, and of the factors associated with detection by healthcare professionals, including opinions on sexist myths, requires further research [53,54]. Our hypothesis is that professionals showing favourable opinions on certain false beliefs or sexist myths perform a lower detection of IPV cases in emergency services.…”