Citation

Goodfellow A, Bone C, Gelberg L. Ann. Fam. Med. 2018; 16(4): 361-363.

Affiliation

Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.)

DOI

10.1370/afm.2266

PMID

29987088

Abstract

In my first year of medical school, I began to care for patients who were survivors of interpersonal violence. As I transitioned from didactics to clinical experiences, I was struck by how common the hidden threads of physical and sexual violence were in my patients' stories of chronic pain, depression, and poor health outcomes. Their symptoms often seemed intangible and challenging to treat, unable to fit neatly into typical diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms. In response, I saw clinicians become frustrated and dissatisfied with their ability to treat these patients. Better care for survivors may begin simply with believing our patients' pain.

© 2018 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

domestic violence; intimate partner violence; physical abuse