Intimate partner violence screening barriers as perceived by Jordanian nurses: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Intimate partner violence screening is an important component of patient assessment; however, not all nurses routinely conduct this screening with their patients.  The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe the barriers to intimate partner violence screening and strategies to overcome these barriers.  A purposive sample of 12 male and female Jordanian nurses working at a university hospital in the city of Irbid, Jordan participated in this study.  Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide.  Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Steps of Colaizzi’s steps for procedural analysis were used to analyze the transcript data.  Four themes were derived from the data: Jordanian culture, system-based IPV screening barriers, IPV victims as barriers to IPV screening, and nurses’ attitudes and beliefs for IPV screening.  Jordanian nurses encounter many barriers that affect their ability to screen for IPV.  Screening for IPV remains an important nursing function even in Jordanian healthcare settings.