Preventing and reducing the impacts of intimate partner violence: Opportunities for Australian ambulance services

Background Violence against women is pervasive worldwide, and a high proportion of the most damaging violence is perpetrated by male intimate partners. The Australian government is committed to action to prevent such violence; however, strategies require input and collaboration from all agencies engaging patients, including ambulance services. To date no Australian ambulance service has published comprehensive guidelines or strategies to improve health outcomes for intimate partner violence patients in line with national strategies. Objective To propose key actions for Australian ambulance services to undertake to reduce the impacts of intimate partner violence in line with national strategies. Methods We reviewed the Australian government's National Plan to reduce violence towards women and its supporting literature, and created key actions for Australian ambulance services. Results Our review has yielded four key actions that Australian ambulance services could undertake immediately for the benefit of intimate partner violence patients. Actions include collaboration with external agencies, education, data collection and championing values promoting zero tolerance of violence towards women. Conclusions Australian ambulance services are currently underserving intimate partner violence patients and must undertake immediate action. Successful strategies to address knowledge and policy gaps will require significant input and guidance from key organisations, including advocacy groups, police and EDs. It is likely that EDs will need to take the lead in creating comprehensive policies and guidelines from which ambulance services can derive their own policies. Failure to address this practice gap might result in paramedics becoming a barrier for intimate partner patients to receive appropriate care and support.