Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2008 May 2.
Published in final edited form as: Ann Intern Med. 2007 Nov 6;147(9):620–627. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-147-9-200711060-00006

Table 4.

Examples of Provider Communication Strategies

Communication Characteristic Example
Good introduction of domestic violence risk-factor topic “I’m going to ask you a question that I ask all women.”
Open-ended opportunities “Can you tell me what happened?” “Anything else?”
Well-worded sensitive questions “Have you ever been touched or spoken to in a manner that made you feel uncomfortable?”
“Are you in a relationship with anyone who has hit you or threatened you?”
Follow-up probing (≥1 question) “Have you ever been…?” “When was that?” “Tell me about it.” “You know why I’m asking?”
In-depth probing (multiple questions with follow-up to patient’s responses) Provider: So, have you had, um (1-second pause), somebody close to you threatened you or injured you recently, hurt you?
Patient: No, nothing really, he just pulled my hair. (2-second pause)
Provider: Who was it?
Patient: My ex.
Provider: Your ex? Okay.
Patient: I was trying to get out of the relationship.
Provider: Trying to get out of the relationship? (1-second pause) When did that happen?
Patient: Probably like a week before I got sick. About a week and a half ago.
Provider: Okay, before you got sick? Alright. Um. Okay. Have you, have you seen anybody about help? Is he, is he still threatening you at all or?
Patient: I’ve got a police report out on him…
Reframing of original question “Any domestic violence? Has anyone close to you hurt you?”
Poorly worded question “Has someone close to you used you as a victim?”
Referral* “I can get you the number to um some of the domestic violence hotlines. And I can get you the number for some of the shelters in the area that have resources available to ya. And they can help you out…”
Excessive use of “um” or broken syntax “Okay. All right. (2-second pause) Okay, and um. (5-second pause.) I always um—(1-second pause) I always ask women (2-second pause) if you’re in a relationship where you’ve been hit or threatened. (2-second pause) No? (1-second pause) Is he a nice guy in the picture?”
Awkward phrasing “Do you live with anybody who hurts you? Physically or…? No? No, you have no problem with that?”
Laughing “He’s not threatening to hurt you with all this pain?”(Laughs)
*

Ranging from a mention of the domestic violence referral to this example of trying to motivate follow-up.