INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: analisi epidemiologica della conoscenza da parte delle studentesse in ostetricia della regione Lombardia

One in three women will experience of violence by intimate partner at some point in her life. Because this kind of experience is so predominant among women, and since midwives are the healthcare workers that take care of women, the first purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge of the problem of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among midwifery students from distinct universities in Lombardy (Italy). The second purpose was to examine educational and training experiences and what students think about the need of education about IPV for future midwives. A not probabilistic sample of 197 students was recruited online, and had to complete a validated questionnaire took from “A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Undergraduate Health Care Professional Students’ Knowledge, Definitions, Education, and Training Experience of Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland and Jordan” (N.M. Al Ali, A. Lazenbatt). The results showed that a substantial percentage of all partecipants didn’t receive any education or informations/material about IPV during lessons. The majority of partecipants had gone on training, but they had not a good knowledge about IPV. The students’ opinion about the need of education on IPV for future midwives was strongly positive, with very little negative response. In accordance with the results and with literature, the third purpose of this study was the actionable proposition to educate future midwives to make an aware prevention based on knowledge of IPV, to recognize and manage women that are victims of IPV, by the creation of an Italian acronym: V.I.O.L.E.N.Z.A.