Wife Abuse: Are We Detecting It?

Our objective was to measure the prevalence of wife abuse in an urban teaching hospital family practice unit and compare this to the frequency of documentation by family physicians. A modified Conflicts Tactics Scale Questionnaire was administered to all female patients either married or common-law older than 16 years during the study period. The respective patients' charts were reviewed for documentation of wife abuse. Three hundred eighty-three charts were reviewed, and 275 surveys were completed (72% response rate). Physical and mental abuse were reported in 8% and 23%, respectively, of the respondents. Four percent of respondents had considered suicide. One percent of the charts had wife assault documented (p = 0.0001). Wife abuse is reported in at least 8% of our patients. There appear to be significant health risks to these women, including homicide, suicide, and rape. Family physician documentation of wife abuse was poor.