The project contributes to primary health care workers in defining their active role in this issue, through the identification, documentation and comprehensive access to adequate intervention, suppression and prevention of violence in general, and in particular of partner violence. The project has contributed to a better understanding of the problem of violence against women, the need for a holistic access to interventions provided to women victims of male violence and the necessity of introducing a single mode and standards in documenting the health consequences of violence.
The project is realized in Belgrade in health care centres: Voždovac, Palilula, Centar, Lazarevac, Sopot and Grocka and Serbia, and in health care centers: Pancevo, Vrbas, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Uzice and Pirot.
The flow and execution of the project is based on the results of the attitudes of health care professionals on violence against women and to assess the health needs of women who are using the services of health care centers and AWC.
A. Assessment of attitudes of health care professionals on violence
B. Assessment of the health needs of the users
C. Seminars for healthcare professionals in 12 health care centers
D. Development of Guidelines for treatment in primary health care to women victims of partner violence
The results of the project activities in 2006:
- In the period from May to December 2006, we have conducted 12 seminars in 6 health care centers in Belgrade and 6 in health care centers in cities across Serbia
- During that period, we have trained 183 health workers in primary health care for working with women victims of violence in order to combat and prevent this phenomenon
- During 12 months of active work there were 1175 completed protocols delivered (a total of 1,800 planned)
- Analysis and assessment of the practical value of the proposed protocol is underway
- We have organized 12 focus groups in all participating health care centers to investigate the attitudes of health care professionals on violence in general and about their role in solving this problem (173 participants)
- We have conducted interviews with 240 users of health care services about their opinion about the quality of services provided in primary health care (100 women who reported violence and 100 women from a random sample)
- The proposal for the introduction of the form for recording the health consequences of violence in the documentation materials, and a recommendation was submitted to the Ministry of Health to enter into official procedure for placing the Law on health records and documentation.
Implementation of the project in 2006 and 2007 is carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia, Institute for Social and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine Belgrade, the directors of the health care centers and AWC and health care workers from 12 health care centers. The project is financially supported by the Canadian International Development Agency - CIDA, the agency CAFOD from the UK and the Ministry of Health.